


A Mystical Christmastime

by ETNMystic



Series: Our Eternity Together [12]
Category: Escape the Night Possession AU, Escape the Night Rebirth AU, Fandom RPF, Multi-Fandom, Original Work, Our ETerNity Together (Web Series AU)
Genre: Christmas Time, F/F, Gen, Ivy's official debut!, badass LGBTQ+ plant girl, someone possibly dies?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:00:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 20,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21541870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ETNMystic/pseuds/ETNMystic
Summary: Mystic and the others end up somewhere they never thought they'd end up: the North Pole. At the insistence of one Mr. Claus, they all become elves. But soon after, Mystic receives a letter from one calling herself the Queen of Fiction, wishing to see her. However they  have bigger fish to fry, as not all seems jolly at the North Pole....
Relationships: ETNMystic/Ivy Flora
Series: Our Eternity Together [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1337809
Comments: 40
Kudos: 6





	1. North Pole Trepak

Everything was so cold.

Super. Fucking. Cold. 

I opened my eyes and sat up. We were in a blizzard wasteland.

"What the fuck kind of place is this?" Orpheus blinked in confusion.

"Beats me," Alice gulped.  
"But it's starting to feel.....festive."

Candy Pop shot up when he heard that, and I was certain that he was having memories of that Victorian Christmas spiel.

"No...no please...no more."

"We've still got handcuffs on, though," Justine exclaimed.  
"How are we supposed to do _anything_?"

"Maybe we should just lie here and wait for death?" Lisbet suggested.

It was at that point that I noticed; she was acting Very Fucking Differently than before. She looked hesitant and anxious. 

"We're not gonna lie here and wait for death," I say resolutely.  
"We're gonna move along and wait for........"

Who would likely be here? That was when it hit me.

"Santa Claus!"

"You actually think that Father Christmas is going to come and save us?" Lyra scoffed.  
"You're out of your fucking mind. Santa's not real."

"Of course he is!" I defended.

"How old are you?"

"Hey. Y'all need to fucking chill," Andrea R. snapped.

"That's all we _can_ do right now," Orpheus snarked.

"Maybe Mystic's right. Maybe we'll get some help."

"From Father Christmas?" Stella exclaimed.

"How do _you_ know Father Christmas isn't real?" Genevieve defended.

This took Lyra by surprise. 

"Genevieve, you know that---!"

"No, none of us do. Father Christmas may be real after all."

"I think the cold's getting to her," Stella suggested.

"Well, it's worth a try!" I snapped back.  
"I'm not gonna just lie her and wait to die. If I'm gonna die, it might as well be while I'm actually _trying_ to save myself, and the rest of you all!"

I began to rush off.

"Mystic!" Genevieve called.  
"Please wait, dear!"

"Mystic..." Andrea R sighed.

But I didn't listen to them. I wanted to prove to them that Santa Claus _did_ exist. And I was gonna prove it, or die trying.

* * *

After about a mile of running, I began to feel exceptionally exhausted. The cold did nothing to help my sore muscles. On the contrary, it only made things even worse. My kneecaps felt as though they were going to snap off at any given moment. My ankles felt as though they were throbbing and thumping like a heart on overdrive. I began to stumble. When was the last time I ate something? Are the others okay? Should I go back to them? There were so many questions going through my mind, and I had the answers to absolutely none of them. 

"C'mon," I groaned as I pushed myself further along the barren and frozen wasteland.  
"You're gonna.....find him....."

All of a sudden, I saw a bright, white light very close to me. I tried to find the source, but I could see nothing. Until, that is, I looked just up ahead of me. It was a majestic four-legged creature approaching me gently. Its nose was glowing as red as a tomato. Did the poor thing have frostbite?

I timidly approached it as it approached me. But by this point, my vision was becoming insanely blurry.

"H-hello?"

I thought I heard footsteps behind me, and a few bodies collapsing, but they sounded faint, far-off. I stumbled again and fell to the ground. My chest stung as it made contact with the barren and hard wasteland. I crawled closer to the majestic being, but I could tell that my energy was fading fast. The last thing I remembered saying before blacking out was to this majestic creature. Two words:

"Help......us......."


	2. Paux de Recover With Claus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I told you he's real!

There was a warm and soft crackling of some kind.

The scent of chocolate and other sweets filled the air. 

Happy chatter and laughter were everywhere. 

Was I...in Heaven?

_"Young lady?"_

It was a deep voice, but a comforting one. Like a grandfather talking to his grandchildren. My eyes fluttered open to see the outline of a rotund man with a white beard.

_"Young lady?"_

"H-huh?"

"Oh thank heavenly father! You're alive. Rudolph was certainly right to call the team."

This took me by surprise.

"R-Rudolph?"

"You didn't recognize the glowing red nose?"

I shook my head slowly as shaking it at a normal pace made me feel extremely disoriented. But then....it hit me.

"R-Rudolph...the Red-Nosed Reindeer?"

He nodded, and my eyes sparkled.

"I knew it! I knew you were real!"

Then came a bright white light....again! I couldn't see the source though, thanks to the dizziness.

"Okay, fine," a voice huffed nearby.  
"You win, Mystic."

It was one I was happy to hear.

"My friends! They're....but how?" I asked Santa.

"Rudolph heard your plea for help and signaled the rest of the team."

Heard my plea? But......did reindeer even understand people? I had no clue. 

"Mystic!" I heard several people gasp.

I saw Alice to my right and Penelope to my left, lying in beds similar to mine. 

"You okay?" I asked in a mixture of relief and alarm.

"Yeah," Alice nodded.  
"Envy's a little chilled, but he's warming up in the greenhouse."

"Greenhouse?"

Santa nodded.

"How else could I make sweets for the good guys, gals, and non-binary pals?"

"Is Santa secretly Thomas Sanders?" Bailey gasped.

I wasn't sure if he was. In fact, I wasn't sure what Santa was even like. I remembered back in second grade when kids tried to tell me that Santa wasn't real. How could they have been so sure? Was there any evidence that he _didn't_ exist? I certainly didn't think so. 

That being said, I had a lot of questions for Santa.

"Is it true that you give bad people coal?"

"Well," he confessed.  
"I used to, but then I found out that coal wasn't really so much of a punishment because a lot of kids were using them to draw on the walls with. So I started sending them sticks, but then I discovered they began using them as magic wands when playing pretend. After a lot of trial and error, I just decided to send them a note. But then they used those to make paper airplanes, so in the end, I decided that I would send them nothing."

"How exactly are you able to live in the North Pole?" Ines inquired.

"Fat isn't useless down here," he smiled.  
"My fat keeps in a lot of heat, and I also make sure the workshop isn't too cold, nor too toasty."

So maybe my distended gut was going to be of some use here.

"How does the mailman get letters from the kids to you?" Alice gasped excitedly.

"There's a magic mailpost where the mailpeople deliver all of the letters. They just put them inside of the chute and _whoosh!_ They all get sent straight to my workshop!"

We were all entranced. It was like being a child again and listening to fairy tales. And with each question he was answering, the brighter that light grew. Was it a bit annoying? Yes, but I was so enraptured by these tales of magic and wonder that it was pushed into the back of my mind.

"Why don't people usually leave things out for the reindeer?" I asked.

He considered this for a moment.

"That's something I've never been able to answer myself. But the reindeer wish to thank you for the snack and drink you leave out for them, Mystic."

"Huh?" a few of the writers asked.

"Mystic, do you know what he's talking about?" Lisbet asked.

"I do!" I smiled.  
"Several years back, I started setting out carrots and water for the reindeer. Everyone seems to forget about all of the hard work they do."

"I do that too!" Alice gasped.  
"I thought I was the only one."

"Oh yes, and thank you too, Miss Alice," Santa beamed.  
"The both of you are very sweet to think of the reindeer. And for the rest of you who do it as well."

"Do you know the Sugar Plum Fairy?" I gasped.

He nodded.

"She and I are very good friends. Would you like to visit her sometime?"

"Yes, please!" I exclaimed, my dialect veering into British.

"Nope," Candy Pop gagged as he tried to sit up in pain.  
"Can we go back to Spooksville, please??"

"I like it here too!" Alice exclaimed.

"I find it quite darling," Penelope smiled.  
"Along with a few people here."

She and I made brief eye contact at that moment, and I blushed.

"Ha! GAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!" Lyra exclaimed.

Penelope was taken aback by this.

"I'll have you know that I am very much straight," she huffed.

"Yeah? So's spaghetti until it becomes hot and wet."

I blushed upon hearing this, and the light glowed brighter. 

"Where's that light coming from?" Lisbet asked.

"Seems like it's coming from over by Mystic."

This was a surprise to hear.

"M-me? I don't see anything."

"Do you have your glasses on?" Wynter wondered.

I shook my head and Santa handed them to me. I placed them on my face and blinked to adjust. The room is a nice, soothing red with green decor. I can smell fresh pine needles as well as chocolate, gingerbread, and other sweets.

"Are we actually in.....?" I gasped in awe.

He nodded.

"This is part of my workshop."

A figure with pointy ears came inside and checked on Candy Pop.

"He's stable, but not quite fit to work yet, sir."

"Give him more time. And more Christmas cheer."

"I'm allergic," Candy Pop gagged.

"Then you're going to have a tough time surviving here. You build immunity and healing when you have Christmas cheer."

"No wonder I'm still bleeding."

An alarm sounded in my head.

"Bleeding?!"

I tried to get up, but Penelope was first to push me back down.

"No, no, no, dear. You have to rest some more."

"I'm fine."

"Better safe than sorry."

"I said I'm fine. Candy Pop isn't!"

"You both aren't okay."

"I'm not about to die!"

"Neither is he."

"He was just bleeding his guts out!"

"Mystic, just fucking stop," Candy Pop groaned.  
"I'm tired of you trying to take on so much shit. So's Envy."

I turned and saw Envy turning a light shade of green.

"Is that true?"

He nodded

"It's clear that.....you're taking on too much, and it's getting concerning," Envy sighed.  
"I don't know how you don't see that it's wearing you down."

"I'm just trying to help! I got you all into this shit and I wanna get you out of it."

"We get it. But putting all of that responsibility on your shoulders is just going to make things worse for yourself," Alice told me kindly.  
"You need to let us help you too."

"And besides," Andrea R added.  
"This isn't on you. The Cursed God was the one who manipulated you in the first place."

"But I should've been more wary. I should've--"

"We don't do should'ves in the Society," Jael told me.  
"We can't fix the mistakes we made, and we can't always prevent the future. We need to work on what we have now."

"They're right," Wynter agreed.  
"We love you a lot and we want to help, but we can't do that if we don't bear some of that responsibility."

"I don't want you taking on that burden."

"We don't want you taking it on either, at least not by yourself."

"Better me than you."

"We can discuss this later," Santa Claus told us.  
"You'd better get some rest. You have a big day of work ahead of you."

Work?

"Work?" I exclaimed.

"Yes," he nodded.  
"I can't just let you live here for free. If you work as my elves, I'll keep you safe from whoever is after you."

He stood up.

"Well, I have to go assign you your new positions. Take care and get a little more rest."

He turned out the lights and shut the door. Penelope was still holding me down. I relented and sighed as I settled down, hopefully to get some extra sleep.


	3. Snowflake Work.....or.....lack thereof???

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (CW: Extreme ableism, eugenics mention, infantilization, r-word use)

The next morning, we woke up and were directed to put on uniforms that had been custom made for us. I took one look at myself in the mirror and wanted to rip it off.

"I look stupid!"

"Oh come on," Andrea Russett told me.  
"I think you look cute in it."

"Yeah! You look so adorable as an elf," Ro agreed.

I blushed intensely as Alice knocked on the door of one of the changing rooms.

"Envy, you coming?"

No answer.

"Envy, come on!"

"I'm not coming out," he mumbled.  
"I look so dorky."

"Oh come on," I assured him.  
"It can't look _that_ bad."

"Yeah!" Alice agreed.

Sighing he opened the door and I couldn't help but chuckle a bit. A seven foot tall plant man in an elf costume was quite a sight. He blushed a deep shade of green.

"You look so handsome!" Alice told him, hugging him.

And he just went fifty shades greener.

"Okay, newbies!" an elf called out.  
"Time to organize you into work areas."

The elf pulled out a list.

"Let's see. Rosanna, Alice, Safiya, Andrea Russett, Matthew, and Mystic, you will be working in the candy-making station with Poppy."

We got together and smiled.

"Nikita, Manny, Bretman, Tyler, Tana, and Joey, you six will be in the seamstress shop working on pajamas with Caramel. Genevieve, Candy Pop, Envy, Andrea Brooks, Lauren, and Alex, you six will be working in the doll-making department with Holly. Gabrielle, Elizabeth, Roi, Colleen, Stella, and Teala, you six will help Zippy with training the reindeer. Lisbet, Parris, Cedar, and Hyacinthe, you four will help Vanilla in the cookie baking area. Ines, Delta, Marly, Darby, Silvia, and Lacey, you six will work with Crunchy on Naughty and Nice List Coordination. Sierra, Justine, Glozell, Oli, Eva, and JC, you six will work on making wreaths with Mistletoe. Lyra, Tristen, Dooper, Haven, Rene, and Taylor, you six will go over to gift-wrapping with Buddy. Alison, Calliope, Mortimer, Sasha, Harlow, and Wynter, you'll be working in the greenhouse with Dolly. Hazel, Montana, Anniken, Aoibhe, Briar, and Caelan, you six will work with Scout on cartography--"

"Some of these names seem new," I told Alice.

"I guess they kinda just....appeared?"

I shrugged and kind of tuned out the rest.

"Okay, everyone, get to work!"

And we were off.

* * *

It wasn't that difficult to get a hang of, if I'm being perfectly honest. I just had to get an ingredient every now and then. But I noticed that...the others were getting more difficult tasks. Like Safiya had to twist candy canes and Ro had to sculpt and boil chocolate. Alice got to help mix flavors for candy canes and candy. I was finished I decided to ask if there was anything else I could do.

"Anything else?" Poppy asked.  
"Oh, no. Nothing else that you could do, I'm sure."

"Wait...nothing I _could_ do?"

She nodded, and I got a little pissed off.

"Um....I think there's a lot I could do."

She giggled and grabbed my hand patting the back of it.

"You're so cute and sweet, but no, we have everything covered. You can go now."

I huffed and walked out. As I was passing the wood-workshops, it happened. This time I knew it wasn't my anxiety. I could hear them talking about me!

"It wasn't responsible of the boss to put her on the candy-making station, you know?" one of the toy-building elves gossiped.  
"She's been through too much and she needs to be kept safe from this toil and drudgery."

"Agreed. Poor little Mystic's been through so much. This could crush her spirit."

"Poppy said she would give her a small job today and she won't have to come into work from now on."

"But how do you know she won't catch on?"

"She's autistic. She won't be able to tell what we're doing unless it's spelled out right in front of her."

"But aren't Delta and Orpheus also autistic?"

"Well yes, but they haven't gone through all of this. They're getting moderate jobs."

Oh, so the North Pole elves are ableist Carols, huh?

I wish---wait a second. I pulled out my teastone bag. 

"I wish I had a small recording device with a clear mic."

The stone dissolved and it appeared. I pressed the record button and hid as they continued. 

"It's Mystic who we need to keep from working. Besides she'd probably just mess everything up."

"Agreed. She's self-centered too. Thinks the whole world revolves around her. Honestly I wonder why any of that group is still hanging out with her."

"Poppy even said she'd dock her pay, along with Delta and Orpheus."

"Good thing too. _Their kind_ can't stand on their own, so why would they need the pay anyway?"

It took all of my strength to keep myself from decking them to kingdom come.

"Maybe if they acted normal, they wouldn't have gotten picked on."

"It'd be better if _their kind_ didn't even exist."

"Are you sure? I mean, yeah, they can barely speak for themselves, but eugenics? Don't you think that's too extreme, Carol?"

"What can they do about it? They're all innocent babies, so by the time they realize what we're doing, a cure will have been found."

I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed the recording device, ran to the dorms, and cried.

* * *

It went on like that for several days. I'd go to work, Poppy would tell me nothing needed to be done, and I'd listen to those ableist bitches talk shit about Delta, Orpheus, and me. I was looking forward to Friday night though. They were having a Christmas party and Secret Santa! Mine was Ro, and I had made her a batch of Christmas cupcakes in the baking room when it was break time. I was praying I wouldn't run into Carol and what's-her-face.

Ro, Alice, Saf, Matpat, and I were waiting in line. I started to get really excited about this and I started jumping up and down and flapping my hands. It wasn't until I got inside the party that I noticed: the elves were looking at me, whispering and pointing. 

"Okay, everyone!" an elf called.  
"Let's do Secret Santa."

The packages were being distributed, and I noticed that they were all still whispering and pointing. Then the elf went up to the stage and that was when I realized: I didn't have a package.

"Did we forget anyone?" she asked.

I raised my hand.

"No one? Okay, good. Let's start---"

"Excuse me?" I asked standing up.  
"But I didn't get a Secret Santa gift."

The elf continued on as if I hadn't said anything. I went up and tapped her on the shoulder. She screamed.

"I've been infected with autism!"

I stumbled back, confused.

"I...I was trying to tell you that I didn't get a Secret Santa gift," I said.

"Get out of the party, retard! No one wants to catch your disease!"

At that moment, my whole world was shattering around me and I started remembering all of the bullying and abuse.

"W-what?" I gasped.

"Lemme spell it out for you: No. One. Wants. You. Here," she said slowly.  
"You're a disgrace to humanity and elf-kind. What you are is why your name was taken out of the Secret Santa hat. Nobody wants you at this party or at any of our other parties! Now get out!"

The elves started ushering me to the door, the noise was overwhelming. I shut my eyes and plugged my ears, but I soon couldn't take it.

"JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU ABLEIST BITCHES!"

They stepped away. I stood in silence for a moment before running back to the dorms in tears. 


	4. A Letter of Love?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't see what's so sketchy about this.

I wasn't sure how long I hid under there, but suddenly I started hearing people calling my name.

"Mystic?" Ro asked softly.  
"Can we talk to you about what happened at the party?"

I froze up slightly.

"You're not in trouble," Andrea Russett told me.  
"If anyone's in trouble, it's those elf bitches."

I peeked out to see that several people had come back. Andrea and Ro were the first two to hug me. I didn't push away. Instead I hugged back intensely. 

"I'm sorry," I apologized.

"Please don't apologize, darling," Penelope assured me, rubbing my back gently.  
"The outburst, granted wasn't necessary, but understandable. Them saying all of those horrible things about you at that stupid party.....despicable."

That was when I remembered.

"This.....wasn't the first time, either," I sighed.

I went over to my bed and pulled out the tape recorder. 

"Some elves in the wood workshop have been talking badly about Delta, Orpheus, and I for the past week. Not only that, but Poppy deliberately gave me a small job because everyone thinks I can't handle the harder shit. Listen."

I played a bit for them. The looks on their faces weren't exactly unexpected, but still slightly surprising.

"That's.......horrible," Safiya exclaimed.

"Why would they say things like that?" Alice whimpered.

"I.....I can't believe this," Penelope gasped.

I sighed, trying not to cry.

"Believe it. They're all there. And the worst part is that somedays, I feel like they're right. That I shouldn't exist."

"No," another voice exclaimed.

I looked to see Lisbet.

"They're 100% wrong."

"That's what I want to believe," I sighed.  
"But sometimes it's hard. The few things that keep me going are that it would hurt you all....and I'm worried someone else might follow suit."

I heard a little whimper and I looked over. It was from either Ro or Andrea.

"We'd miss you so much if you weren't alive," Alice told me.

"Terribly," Penelope nodded.

"It's shitty to be told all of that," Safiya said.  
"But it doesn't mean they're right."

I sighed. I knew they were likely wrong, but it was easier said than believed. 

"I....I don't think I want to stay here anymore," I sighed.  
"But where would we go?"

"I don't know," Matt said pulling something out of his pocket.  
"But this letter might have the answer."

He handed it to me. It was a sparkling silver envelope with decorations on it. I looked at the back and found it signed

**_To my dearest Mystic._ **

"That's.....unexpected," I said.

I opened it up, pulled out a letter, and read it aloud.

_"To my dearest Mystic,_

_"I have longed to see you for ages. I had heard that you were nearby and I want nothing more than to see you and your sister Alice. I know that it seems unexpected to hear this from someone you hardly know, but I lost you two over 18 years ago and I've missed you ever since. If it is not too much to ask of you, I wish for you to visit. All you need is a storybook and a portal._

_"Sincerely,_

_"The Queen of Fiction."_

It took me a while to process all of this.

"Hang on a second....sister?" 

I looked over to Alice.

"Did....did you know anything about this?"

She shook her head.

"No...I feel like this is a trap."

I shrugged.

"Hey, as long as it gets us away from the North Pole, I'll take them up on the offer."

"Mystic, no!"

"Alice," I sighed.  
"There's really not much at risk here. My sanity and self-esteem will be gone if I stay. I'm the Rudolph of elves here. You all can stay here if you want, but I'm going to find this Queen of Fiction."

"You could be falling right into the Cursed God's clutches!"

"At this point, I'm okay with that. The Cursed God may treat me like a child, but he doesn't wish for me to be dead because of 'what I am'."

"We can help you get through it," Lisbet told me.

"I've made my decision," I sighed shaking my head.  
"I'm going."

Grabbing the recorder and letter, I stormed off to find Jael in the hopes of making a portal. But first.....a visit to the library was in order.

* * *

The library wasn't that difficult to find. I picked out a decent sized fiction book. Finding Jael was a different story. It took me at least 15 minutes. I eventually found her in the lounge, reading a book on obscure codes. Why Santa would have a book on codes I don't know, but I didn't want to ask. I just wanted to leave.

"Hey," I said.  
"You didn't go to the party?"

She shook her head.

"Partying's not really my thing. What about you?"

I sighed.

"Long story. So listen....I got this letter and I think it might be a good idea to take them up on the offer."

I handed it to her and she read it quietly.

"Seems a bit risky. Why do you want to go?"

I felt like I was being listened in on.

"The elves here are ableist."

I played for her some of what I captured.

"I see," Jael said, a little disgusted.  
"Well, I'm not exactly sure about this. I've lost someone important who went to another world, and I don't want it to happen again."

"At least you're not telling me no outright."

She shrugged.

"I admit risks are important to take sometimes."

"She's right, you know?" I asked loudly near the door.

No response. I huffed.

"Alice, Genevieve, Andrea, all of you, don't pretend you're not listening in."

A little embarrassed, they all emerged, along with a few other faces. Or rather, some unfortunately-familiar faces.

"Why should we--?" it was the elf who had called me the r-word.

"It's horrible what you've been saying about her," Ro snapped quietly.  
"How would you feel if you were in her shoes?"

The elf seemed to waiver in her stance. 

"What? You brought her to get her to apologize to me so I'll stay?" I rolled my eyes.

"We brought her to apologize because it's the right thing for her to do."

"You can't force her to apologize to me, though."

I looked at the elf.

"Would you actually mean it if you apologized?"

She hesitated.

"It's just.....the last autistic elf who worked here didn't really care about any of us and was never able to complete her jobs. We've been scared it would happen again."

"No autistic person, or elf, is the same," I told her as calmly as I could.  
"So I feel extremely hurt that you all have been talking shit about me behind my back, especially the parts about eugenics, all because of a single experience."

She pursed her lips, and she seemed genuinely guilty about the fact.

"I.......I'm sorry for hurting you like that. We thought you wouldn't have known--"

"That doesn't change anything. I _do_ know because I've recorded the conversations the elves at the wood workshop have been having about Delta, Orpheus, and me."

"I know. I've also been saying the same things with the elves at the knitting area where Bailey's working. I've been a real asshole, to say the least," she sighed.  
"But.....Safiya and the others told me about that letter you got, and I don't want you to run off into something sketchy just because of this. I'd be willing to do my best to keep an open mind, and convince the others to do the same."

I wasn't so sure.

"Listen, Mystic," she sighed.  
"We're holding Secret Santa again. We'll redraw names and whoever gets yours will get you a second present as well. You can open it at next week's party. And on Christmas day, we're going to have a major celebration and Santa's going to give us all piles of presents and our pay. I want you to be there, and if anyone tries to tell you to go away, I'll be there to tell them off, and so will your friends. They care a lot about you, you know. I'll also talk to Poppy and get her to get you a better job than just getting ingredients."

I looked at her sparkling plum eyes, a bit uncertain, but she gave me a small, sad smile.

"Thanks....." I drifted, not sure what her name was.

"Sugarplum," she replied.

"Thanks, Sugarplum," I said.  
"I accept your apology."

"Thanks. And....if it's not too late, I can get them to let you back in to the party."

I shook my head.

"Sorry, but I feel it'd be a bad experience."

She nodded, ashamed.

"I understand. Well, if you want, I can bring you a plate of food from the party."

"That'd be nice," I smiled sadly.

I looked up at the others.

"You all can go back as well if you want."

Andrea was the first to speak up.

"Fuck that, I wanna wait until they at least learn to respect you."

"Same," Ro nodded.

Alice, Lisbet, Safiya, Penelope, and Matpat all agreed that staying out of the party was a better alternative.

"We can have our own party," Lisbet smiled.  
"There's a kitchen nearby the dorms."

Hearing this, Ro got excited and rushed off.

"Okay then," I giggled seeing her happy.  
"I guess we're having a dorm Christmas party."

And with that, they walked me back.


	5. Merry Truthmas

**Sugarplum:**

I felt terrible the moment I had taken her name out of the Secret Santa, but I thought what I was doing was for the good of the group. I was trying to keep the same thing that happened with Sugarbelle from happening again. Where she is now I have no clue, but now I had to fix things between us and Mystic. 

I went back in to the party where I saw that more of her friends had left. 

"So you got rid of the retard, Sugarplum?" Crumbles asked me.

"She'll never show up again," Rosie sniffed.

"What a crybaby," Carol scoffed.

"Stop it," I growled.

This took them by surprise.

"We need to treat Mystic with respect and kindness. We barely even know her."

"I'd like to remind you," Cocoa Beans huffed.  
"That this was all your idea. You're just as guilty as the rest of us."

"Yeah, and that makes me feel like shit!" I announced.

That was when I realized: I shouldn't just be defending Mystic. Sugarbelle deserved that kind of defense as well.

"And anyway, what kind of elves are we? We're supposed to be Christmas elves! Making others feel like their existence is wrong is not what Santa would want us to do. Hell, what we did to Sugarbelle was wrong!"

"She threw a tantrum when she didn't get on candy duty," Rosie rolled her eyes.

"She was _told_ she was going to be on candy duty the night before the incident. She had trouble with sudden changes. So when Hearth suddenly switched her over to woodworking, and _you_ _knew_ she was afraid of using the buzzsaw Hearth, she panicked!"

"Why didn't she just suck it up?"

"She liked to have a sense of stability, and this workshop isn't exactly the most stable of jobs! I even had to lie to Mystic to cover up who Sugarbelle _really_ was. The sweetest elf on the face of the earth. We all saw how eager she was to work with sweets. And we all abused her to kingdom come after that because she was an easy target. I don't know what other autistic elves have done, but that's no excuse for treating others like shit!"

I noticed that some of the elves seemed to be having second thoughts.

"I.....I guess I didn't realize she was panicking," Hearth gulped.  
"I thought she was just doing it for attention and to get candy duty."

"I feel like a bitch," Carol sighed.

"That's because you are. We _all_ are for what we did. And if we're going to make her and her friends feel welcome, we gotta start including her and treating her with kindness and respect. If you still think that autistic elves and people are menaces and self-centered, then I don't want you at any of the future parties!"

I stormed out, remembering the day Sugarbelle arrived, as well as the reason I was the most guilty out of everyone there for what happened.

* * *

_"Okay," Hearth called out.  
"Everyone, we have a new elf. This is Sugarbelle Hollyheart."_

_I noticed that she was rocking on her feet and it reminded me of my sister, who is also autistic. Sugarbelle had the cutest blonde curls and button nose._

_"Go ahead and say hi," Hearth encouraged._

_She waved shyly. I smiled back, but I heard some of the others giggling. I gave them a glare._

_"If anyone would be willing to show her the ropes--"_

_"I can do it," I volunteered._

_I went up to her and she seemed to shrink in to herself._

_"Hey there. I'm Sugarplum."_

_She didn't make eye contact with me, but I could tell she was listening._

_"Hi," she whispered back._

_That started my double agent life. While I was kind to Sugarbelle, I would stay silent about her whenever they were making fun of her. I was scared that people would stop hanging around me if I was open about her. I still saw Sugarbelle as a little sister. She was so sweet and loved to talk about candy. Whenever she'd talk about stuff she was interested in, she'd always have a sparkle in her eyes. I remembered the time she had worked on making cupcakes for everyone._

_"Hey," she said to the bullies._

_She held out her cupcakes._

_"For you. One each."_

_They gave these exaggerated sugar-sweet smiles as they each took a cupcake. Sugarbelle was beaming when she told me about it. I decided to keep from her the fact that I'd seen every single one of the bullies throw their cupcakes into the garbage the moment she was gone._

_I kept this up for a whole year. Then December was nearing._

_"You excited to get your Christmas time job?" I'd asked._

_"Candy duty?" she'd asked me._

_I thought about this._

_"Well, we're usually given the same jobs every year, so I think you'll be on candy duty."_

_"Big sister?"_

_"I'll likely be working on candy duty as well."_

_"We do a refresher course?"_

_I nodded._

_"Absolutely."_

_She started jumping up and down, flapping her hands and it made my heart swell to see how excited she looked._

_"Bedtime?"_

_I nodded._

_"We need our sleep."_

_She jumped into the bed beside me and rolled over. I rolled over too, but I felt a sense of guilt: I knew what Hearth and the bullies were planning to do, but I had neglected to tell her._

* * *

_The next day, Hearth was giving out the jobs. Sugarbelle was rocking on her feet, anxiously waiting for her name to be called. Then it happened._

_"Sugarbelle, you'll be on woodworking."_

_She stopped and began blinking rapidly._

_"N-no," she panicked.  
"Candy duty."_

_"According to the list, you're on woodworking."_

_"No! No! No! NOOOOOOO!"_

_She fell to the floor and began sobbing rocking back and forth. I understood why: she told me how she was scared of the buzzsaws in the woodworking shop._

_"Candy, candy, candy, candy."_

_I knew that was one of her verbal stims._

_"Hearth, please. Switch her over to candy duty."_

_"I can't change the list."_

_The bullies were pointing at Sugarbelle, whispering and laughing. But I didn't have the courage to tell them off. And after that, in spite of her pleading with me, I drifted away from Sugarbelle, scared of the others isolating me, until she basically disappeared._

* * *

Remembering all of this made me feel worse, but I supposed I deserved it. She saw me as a big sister, and I abandoned her when she needed me the most. I sat down at one of the tables in the workshop, covered my face, and cried.


	6. Christmas Fury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And this is where everything goes downhill again.

Ro almost seemed to work at hyperspeed. Aside from the waiting times for the oven, she was both quick and careful with the treats. How she managed to do it, I have no idea, but something else that shocked me was that the others were able to decorate the dorms so quickly. Some of the others from our group also return. A few of the elves also stopped by to apologize for what they'd said to me, and even offered to give me some extra presents. And soon after, Sugarplum returned. 

"Hey," she smiled, but it was a smile that looked like it was hiding something.  
"I brought you some food."

Food? More like a banquet. And it was at that moment that Ro brought in a ton of treats. It was like two entire royal feasts.

"Wow!" I gasped as she handed the plate to me.  
  
All of a sudden, I saw it again. Some sort of white glow. Sugarplum gasped.

"No way," she said in disbelief, her eyes growing wide.

"What?" I asked confused.  
"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's......I......."

She rushed out.

"What was _that_ all about?" 

I turned to the others who were also flabbergasted.

"Why's everyone looking at me like that?"

They looked like they weren't sure how to tell me.

"Um....." Alice began.  
"You're kinda......glowing white."

I was majorly confused.

"Glowing white?"

They lead me to a mirror. I saw it briefly before it faded, but then as my excitement returned, so did the light.

"Oh my God!" I gasped.  
"Is that what happened on the first night? Why is this happening?"

"I.....I don't know," Penelope stammered.

"Well, is this a good thing?"

"I don't know that either."

"It _looks_ like a good thing," Alice remarked.

"Looks can be deceiving."

"I dunno," Andrea R. said.  
"White is usually used to represent peace, right?"

I nodded.

"It also feels......nice," I remarked.  
"Warm and comforting. Like an angel's hugging me."

Some of them smiled, but others looked a little concerned.

"Well, it sounds like this happened before," Penelope wondered.

"What I'm curious about is Sugarplum's reaction," I said.  
"She acted like she just saw God for the first time."

"It seems that she may know something that we don't."

"That much I can tell. The question is what does _she_ know that _we_ don't?"

"Well, we're gonna have to ask her," Andrea Brooks shrugged.  
"Who should do it?"

"Maybe you should do it," I suggested to Andrea.  
"You _did_ suggest us asking."

"I'll come too," Eva piped up.

"Same," Sierra said.

"I'll come as well," Oli said, which caused Lyra to squeal.

"Count me in," Glozell exclaimed.  
"If this is something from the Lord, I'd like to know what it is."

"Looks like we've got a season 1 crew going on," Delta remarked.

"Seems so," Lisbet agreed.

"Am excited for this!" Bailey exclaimed, their eyes sparkling.  
"And for the rest of the party!"

That was when I remembered.

"Ro! You never got your Secret Santa gift."

"Don't worry," she assured me.  
"It's on my bed."

"You should open it."

"Okay!"

She rushed over and pulled it out. There were the chocolate and vanilla cupcakes I'd made. They were a little mucked up, but they were still there.

"Mystic! This is so sweet of you," she gushed.

"Wha--who said it was from me?" I asked.

"You don't exactly have a good poker face, Mystic," Delta sighed.

"Yeah, your feelings are usually pretty out in the open," Ines agreed.  
"So I think it's obvious that you're Ro's Secret Santa."

"Well," Lyra disagreed.  
"She's not really so much of a 'Secret' Santa now, is she?"

"No, I guess not."

I blushed and nodded.

"Yeah, they were from me. The frosting's not all that great, but I tried."

Ro took a bite into one and tasted it.

"Flavor's good, very rich chocolate and a nice vanilla. A little dry, but not terribly. You did a good job at them."

"Hey, Envy," Alice said.  
"You said you had something to tell me. What was it?"

He blinked in confusion.

"I.....I just told you!"

"You....did?"

"How....what.....? What about the tracker? The one we could use to find the tokens?"

"Tracker?" Alice asked.  
"You never gave me a tracker."

"Hey, did anyone else see a flash of red?" Andrea Brooks asked. 

Envy's eyes widened.

"Alice, what do you last remember?"

"I dunno. I thought I felt something grab me, but then....everything's a blur."

"N...No! I wished for this to not happen! I used the tea stones!"

It bounced around in my head and I had to take a moment to process everything. He....he didn't......he couldn't have? Fire practically melted my veins.

"You did WHAT?" I asked angrily.  
"You STOLE my teastones?"

"No I---"

"Don't you know I put a wish on them so only I could use them? And you were trying to get a token tracker and end this whole thing? The one thing that makes me feel like I actually have a _purpose_ in life? That makes me feel like I'm actually important for once?"

I was infuriated. My aura was gone, Envy had stolen _my_ teastones, and he'd tried to use them to do....what? Get a tracker and cheat this whole thing? Tears were streaming down my face. I shook my head.

"I hate you!"

I rushed out of the dorms, my vision blurry.


	7. Caught in Crimson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you--

I didn't care where I was going. I didn't care who saw me crying. All I knew is that I'd been betrayed. Envy had stolen _my_ teastones. He thought he could cheat the wish I put on them to keep the wrong people from using them. And he tried to take away the one thing that actually made me feel like I mattered even a little bit. 

I ended up in another room with a bed. I didn't know what it was, but I didn't care at this point. All I wanted was to be alone. I slammed the door, locked it, pressed myself against it after sliding down to the floor, and cried. 

"Why the tears, my dear?" a voice asked in a motherly way.

"Leave me alone," I snapped.

"Oh?" they sounded curious.  
"I'm only trying to help."

"Yeah, well you're not helping me by talking to me. Fuck off."

They were silent for a moment, and I thought that I finally had some peace and quiet. That lasted a hot second. 

"I could make all of those troubles go away, you know."

I rolled my eyes.

"Sure," I scoffed.

"I truly can," they insisted.  
"I have quite the talent for it. And....I can help you find the tokens."

I felt fury run through me. 

"Fucking how?"

"I.....found a tracker--"

"Destroy it."

They seemed taken aback.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Destroy it!"

"But I thought you _wanted_ to find the tokens."

"I _did_ ," I sighed.  
"But now I've come to realize: once this is all done, I'll go back to being a nobody. In this world, people actually like me and care about me. Why would I want _that_ to be all over? At the very least, I want this to go on. Maybe not all of the token shit, but being loved and cared about. So just destroy the damn thing!"

The voice was silent for a few moments.

"Very well."

I heard a gasp outside, then a grunt, and then---

_**CRASH!** _

The device shattered into pieces. I smiled a little.

"Are you happy, dear?"

I nodded.

"Envy thinks he can be the hero. For once I want a story where _I'm_ the hero. In reality, I'm always the underdog, and I always lose. No one cares about me in reality."

All of a sudden, I heard a knock on the door.

_"Mystic?"_

It was Alice.

"Go away."

_"I just wanna talk to you."_

"I don't wanna talk to anyone right now."

_"Please? It's really important."_

Hmm. Alice didn't seem like the type to lie about something like that. 

"What is it?"

"Oh, don't listen to her, my darling," the voice coaxed, becoming more soothing.  
"Just listen to my voice."

From the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of red. And that was when I knew I had fucked up. I tried to leave, but she grabbed me by the back collar of my dress and brought me into the dark.

"Poor, sweet, little Mystic," she cooed condescendingly as she turned me around to face her.  
"No one _ever_ lets her be the hero. And you know why no one does? It's because you're not. You're the ingenue. That's what you've always wanted to be, right? You've always felt those roles fit you best, right? Christine Daaé, Cosette, Laura Wingfield, all of those sweet and innocent girls who everyone adores. Who everyone wants to love and protect. That's you, isn't it? You've always felt a connection to them, haven't you?"

Her eyes glowed red, and I found myself fixated on them, barely hearing the tug and jiggling of the doorknob.

"Uh-huh," I nodded.

"I can see why. You're so much like them. Idealistic, seeing the good in everyone, loving, affectionate, kind, innocent, even adorable."

"Yeah."

"Forget about being the hero, my darling. The hero has to do all of the grunt work. Sure, they're admired, but every assumes they can handle everything. And that's not you, is it? Of course it's not. You prefer to be loved and adored and fawned over by everyone. You'd love a life where people keep you safe. One where no one hurts you. Isn't that right?"

"Yes."

"And I can be one of the people to protect you. I've always wanted a sweet and lovely daughter, and you're the perfect candidate. You're just simply adorable and sweet, with your button nose and bright, doe eyes and shy, affectionate demeanour. It's no wonder you have so many people who love you here, including myself. Of course I like to think I'm one of the ones who love you the most."

"The....most...?"

"Absolutely."

I felt her bringing me in close, and petting me like I was a cat. It relaxed me, and I let out a small purr. I could hear her giggle endearingly in response.

"Awwww! You see? You're so sweet and adorable. I've never met someone so affectionate, cute, and loving as you are. And that's why people flock to you. You're just so darling and precious! And such a darling and precious girl should have a life to match. I can give it to you: a life of love, happiness, comfort, and adoration."

"Love.....happiness......comfort......adoration......"

"Yes, my dearest Mystic. It's one you very much deserve; a life with no pain or suffering or sorrow. You've gone through so much, so many terrible things, more than anyone should have to go through. All of those terrible people trying to bring you down. Those bullies in elementary school. Those wretched girls from high school. All of the people who tried to teach you that who you are is wrong. They were all just envious of how so very sweet, lovely, and adorable you truly are.  
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with who you are. In fact, I think there should be more people who _are_ like you. There are a lot of evil people in this world, people who only think of themselves, those who waste their life away on hatred and wrath. But not you. You are so beautifully different. You are so very loving and kind, and you deserve to be loved, adored, and cared for. And the life I so desperately desire to give to you would assure you of that. You'd be perfectly safe and loved and cared for. And to start your new life, the life you so wonderfully deserve, I would love for you to think of me as your mother."

"Think of you......as.....my mother...."

"Oh, yes, my sweet, precious, little girl. In fact, you _know_ that I am your mother, and that I love you so very much. You are so precious to me and I wish for you to have only the best in life and beyond. And you just feel so safe and sweet and happy and loved when you're with me. When you're in my arms, nothing and no one hurts you. Mother protects you from all of the evils of this world."

"Mother...."

"Yes, my darling Mystic. I am your mother. It feels so wonderful to call me mother, doesn't it?"

"Yes!"

"You just feel so safe and so loved, knowing that your mother always protects you."

"So.....safe....so....loved...."

"Nothing and no one hurts you, not while I'm around."

"No one.....hurts....me...."

"And all of this makes you feel so relaxed that you could just sleep---"

"Take your hands off of her, Cecelia!" 

_**SNAP!** _

I could faintly hear someone yelling at her. Shocked, she dropped me to the ground and, as per usual, I blacked out.


	8. Dear Bunny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sierra's in a heck of a lot of trouble.

**Sierra Furtado**

We were kinda just standing there outside, waiting for Genevieve to unlock the stupid door, which was taking forever, and we could hear something going on inside. We just weren't sure what it was. And by the time we got inside, Mystic was being hypnotized by this Genevieve look-alike with red hair!

"You ruined everything again," she sighed.  
"Mystic was about to have a loving mother."

"Enough of your bodewash!" Genevieve said, whatever that means.  
"We're taking her with us."

"Really? I think my lord would beg to differ."

"Your 'lord' is an emotionally-abusive prick," Lyra snapped.  
"There's no way _any_ of us are letting him get to her."

"Th-the tracker!" Envy gasped out of nowhere, pointing.

The lady looked over to wherever he was pointing. There was something broken on the ground.

"Oh, that?" she asked innocently.  
"I simply 'borrowed' it from your little friend Alice."

"What?" Alice asked confused.  
"I don't remember that happening."

"That's because I made sure you forgot, dearie. You do know that I am quite skilled in hypnosis, don't you?"

She sounded so....condescending. It was really ticking me off. I couldn't just stand there and let her treat any of us like little kids. I had to say something! I was absolutely terrified to, but someone had to.

"Okay, look. I don't know who you are-"

"Cecelia Annesley."

That answered that.

"Okay then. I don't know why you're here-"

"To take this sweet young girl back to my lord-"

Another question answered.

"Just leave Mystic alone!"

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that. And I certainly can't let you backtalk to me either."

And then she approached me. This creepy lady, who I only just met, was now approaching me.

"Uh, what are you doing?" I asked backing away.

"Oh nothing."

This didn't look like nothing to me. In fact, it looked like a whole lot of trouble.

"I simply wanted to show you my eyes. My lovely red eyes."

She said she was skilled in hypnosis, right? What if....?

"Um, I'm good," I laughed nervously.

"Oh, but I insist, dear."

Then they glowed. It was a strange shade of red. Why couldn't I look away?

"Get away from her!" 

I could barely hear Envy shout at Cecelia.

"No, no, no. Pay no mind to him, dear bunny."

"D-dear bunny?"

"Yes. You seem so sweet and timid, like an adorable, little, bunny rabbit. And you _are_ quite darling, so it feels only fitting to call you dear bunny, don't you agree?"

And for some reason, I nodded. It sounded fitting at the time.

"Now just pay attention to my eyes and my voice."

I felt some jostling against me, but Cecelia took some steps back and pulled me in closer. I didn't feel afraid, though. Actually I felt quite the opposite. It was like.....a calm I couldn't describe. A warm fire radiating against my face during the winter. 

"Listen to my voice.....erm, what's your name, dear bunny?"

"Sierra."

"Sierra. How lovely. Now, Sierra, it seems that that warmth is making you quite tired. So very tired. Isn't that right?"

Well, yeah. I did felt extremely tired, but it was a gradual tiredness. My eyelids were getting extremely heavy. 

"And you feel so relaxed, almost like you're floating. And you feel so tired that you could just.....sleep!"

I heard the snap of someone's fingers.

And that was when I blacked out.

* * *

**Eva Gutowski**

I.....what did I just witness? Was this real? Did I really just see Sierra go down for the count? That crazy woman, Cecelia, just hypnotized one of my friends! Actually Mystic was also hypnotized, so that was two of my friends! And she had them both.

"What are you doing?" I exclaimed.  
"Where are you taking them?"

Cecelia gave this.....evil smirk as she grabbed them both.

"Oh, well....I think dear bunny here needs a slight attitude adjustment."

"Bitch, if she needs an attitude adjustment from just standing up to you, then what the fuck do I need?" Nikita scoffed.

She just brushed Nikita off like a fly.

"I'll be going for now, but I certainly wouldn't mind bringing back a few more to my lord."

We all tried to stop her, but there was a flash of light....and then she was gone.


	9. The Puzzle Prints

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something's fishy.

**Andrea Brooks**

“No, Sierra!” Eva. 

“Mystic!” Ro.

“We have to get them back!” Andrea R. 

I was just.....stunned. Mystic was just taken right before our eyes. We....didn't even have a chance to stop her. Now everyone was clamoring around, trying to figure out what to do, but that was when I saw Teala. I didn't really know her that well, but I figured that maybe we could try to find something out together. 

"Hey," I said to her.  
"You wanna take Eva, Oli, and Glozell and go find out what was up with that glow thing Mystic had?"

"Oh, 100%," she agreed.

"I can't.....It's destroyed!" Envy exclaimed picking up the parts of the tracker.  
"How......how did it get this bad?"

"Oh wow," Candy Pop said.  
"That looks completely broken."

"You don't say," Envy spat.

I had never seen this guy so salty before, but he started getting an attitude. I guess he had a good reason for it, but it was still a little.......strange coming from him.

"You guys going to find out what was up with Mystic?" Tana asked.  
"I wanna go too."

"Okay," I shrugged.  
"Oli, Eva, Glozell! We're gonna go talk to them about.....the thing."

"We're coming. We're coming," Glozell said.

"I wanna go too!" Roi yelled.

Cue Stella squealing.

So we just headed out and tried to find the elves. That was easier said than done, though. It seemed like everywhere was completely deserted, or whenever we would find these elves, they'd be huddling in a group and when they'd see us, they'd just.....run off. But then we went to the library. And when they scattered _this time,_ they left something behind.

"What's this?" Eva asked.

There was a sort of......blueprint on the table and on the blueprint, it wasn't finished it seemed, but it looked like parts of a glass chamber or like one of those see-through coffins. Aside from the glass lid, it seemed kinda comfortable. But then.....

"There's something next to it," Oli pointed out.  
"It looks like.....some sort of power box."

"Hang on...why does this feel.....wet?" Tana asked.  
"This shouldn't be wet."

"Look, there's some sort of.....spray bottle," Glozell exclaimed.

I looked over and sure enough, there was this white spray bottle and I realized that that was what was probably on the blueprint, but I wasn't sure why they were spraying it. But that was when Teala stepped in.

"Wait! Maybe if we.....like spray the rest of it."

So she picked up and started spraying the paper and that was when...

"NO!" Roi gasped.

"Oh my Goodness!" Glozell exclaimed.

"There's a note on it!" Eva said, and she read it aloud.  
"'The chamber of innocence requires a being that radiates pure innocence in order to power the North Pole. To identify the one who holds such a power, whenever they are placed in a situation where they experience wonder or joy, there will be a glowing white aura surrounding them. The brighter the aura, the more powerful their wonder and joy are.' Oh God, this doesn't mean---"

"Sugarplum must've told the others," Tana gasped.  
"And they must've known that this was a thing."

"So does that mean....they're going to put Mystic-?" Oli asked.

"Well, they must already have someone already inside of it," Teala said.  
"Otherwise the North Pole wouldn't have power, right?"

That was when the lights began to flicker. They were getting dimmer.

"I think that....whoever is in there is running out of innocence," Roi gulped.

"So they're trying to make Mystic the next power source," I said.

"That's why they've been running away from us!" Glozell gasped.  
"If they knew we were in the know, we could get Mystic away from them."

"But wouldn't they have had to seek out someone anyway?" Tana asked.  
"It seems like they've been running out of power for a long time. This isn't the first time the power's been shitty."

"Yeah, but now because Mystic's here, and she's been found out, they don't gotta."

"Guys, I think we need to leave," Eva gulped.  
"Before they come back for their stuff."

_**CLANK! Click!** _

All of a sudden, the door just barred shut and locked us in. 

"What the hell is going on?!" Teala screamed as the lights began to flicker more intensely.

"Oh no Jesus!" Glozell gasped.

And then I heard something fall on the floor. I rushed over and I saw this book with something sticking out.

"Guys, over here!"

They all rushed over and Oli flipped open to the note.

"'You have discovered something that you were not meant to know, and now you must pay the price. However we love a good game, so you'll have a chance to escape. Around this room, you will find three numbers. These hold both the location of and the combination to the riddle that will give you the code to your escape through the main door. If you correctly figure out and plug in the correct combination within 15 minutes, the door to salvation shall be opened. If you fail, poisonous gas will flood the library and you will all be killed. Time is running short. Do-we suggest you begin looking in _three_ different places, or perhaps now 2? We do.'"

"What does that mean?" Glozell asked.

"I think it means we need to start looking," Roi gasped.

He was now just running around frantically, searching for numbers, and when we realized our lives were at stake, so did the rest of us.

"Guys, I think we should take these," Tana suggested, grabbing the spray bottle and blueprints.

"Sure, sure," Eva dismissed.  
"Whatever, let's just find these numbers before we all die!"

"Guys, I see a 9!" Roi yelled.

"Okay, so 9," Teala said.  
"What else?"

"I think there's a 0 on the bookshelf over here," Glozell exclaimed.

"So 9-0," I added.

We tried checking everywhere, but we couldn't find the 3rd number and our time was running out!

"They said there were 3 numbers," Eva sighed.  
"Why are there only 2?"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Tana exclaimed.  
"Check the note."

Oli picked the note back up and scanned through it.

"What about the ending? It says 'Do-we suggest you begin looking in _three_ different places, or perhaps now 2? We do.'"

"Do-we? Why are you saying it like that?" Glozell asked.

"It's how it's written."

"Wait a second," Eva gasped.  
"Can I see that?"

He handed her the note and she read through it.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed.  
"They gave us the first number! 3!"

"Okay, but where do we plug it in?" Teala asked.

"Should we try the door?" I asked.

We did, but no dice.

"Didn't the note say there was a riddle we needed to solve? Is there something in it that might help us find it?"

"Hang on," Eva gasped.  
"Do-we. It had a hyphen in the middle, so do-we. Dowe.....Dewey....Dewey Decimal System! We need to find 390."

And then like Roi, she was rushing all over the place, but eventually we found 390. We started looking through the books and Oli found one that looked like it didn't belong there.

"'Dante's Inferno.' Wait, why's it here?"

"There's a lock on the book!" Teala pointed out.  
"They said the number we found was also the combination."

We plugged in 3-9-0, and then....

"Oh my God," I groaned.

It was the stupid demon riddle from when we tried to rescue Shane.

"You recognize that?" Oli asked.

"It was the riddle in the library when we had to get those antidotes."

"So, it says 3 young ones," Teala began.  
"Their ages multiply to 36 and add up to the number of demons on the grand council."

"That's 13," Eva gasped.  
"And I think it says the eldest, so the first number has to be older than the other 2. That's.....9-2-2! That's it! Plug it in!"

We rushed over and plugged in 9-2-2. Sure enough, the door opened, and we cheered. 

"We're not gonna die!" Tana exclaimed running out.

"I'm starting to understand why you survived," I remarked to Eva as we rushed out.

* * *

**Oli White**

We rushed back out to the group. Tana brought the blueprints with her, so thank God, we had proof that there was something fishy going on.

"Guys, where have you been?" Joey gasped.

"We got trapped in the library," Eva explained.  
"And we had to do this, like, mini-escape room, but guys, we need to leave the North Pole. Like, now!"

"Well yeah," Alice exclaimed.  
"We're not safe now that Cecelia knows where we are."

"No, this is worse. The elves kept running off from us, and then in the library, we found these blueprints."

As if on cue, Tana pulled out the blueprints and the bottle.

"What is that?" Justine asked.

"It looks like some sort of....coffin," Safiya answered.

"Okay, then I'm staying far away from that."

"It's not a coffin. Read the note," Eva said.

They gathered around and read what was on the blueprint.

"Oh fuck," Andrea R. whispered.  
"That aura means she--"

"-Can become their next power source," Tana sighed.

All of a sudden, I got this sense that we were short someone. I did a headcount.

"Guys.....where's the other Andrea?"

We looked nearby, but....she was nowhere to be found.

"There's only one explanation," Safiya gasped.  
"Cecelia's found us."


	10. What I Have To Offer...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrea, don't fall for it.....

**Andrea Brooks**

As we were leaving the library, I felt someone grab me. I had no time to scream. I was pulled into a dark area and my mouth was covered.

"Now, now."

It was that red-haired Genevieve!

"No need to be alarmed. I'm not going to hurt you."

That sounded like a lie.

"In fact, I wish to _help_ you."

She uncovered my mouth.

"Help me?"

She nodded. I tried to avert my eyes away from hers.

"You know, it's polite to make eye contact."

"You know, I don't trust you enough to do that. I'm always one of the first to get possessed or hypnotized in the group."

"It's because you're an easy target, dearie."

"That doesn't encourage me to trust you, you know?"

"I assure you, you'll want to trust me after what I can offer you."

I folded my arms. I wasn't willing to trust her, especially not after she took Sierra _and_ Mystic.

"You were good friends with Timothy and Matthew, were you not?"

I shrugged.

"Why exactly is it any of your business?"

"It's because I plan to offer you their resurrections."

What? Did she---was she really saying that--?

"Resurrections?"

"Yes, darling. Resurrections."

And that was when I made the mistake of looking into her eyes.

"You know, I simply _adore_ this.....dark mistress look you have going on in your outfit. I think that would suit you quite nicely."

They began to glow red, and I got caught.

"H-huh?"

"Yes, a dark mistress persona would fit you perfectly. Think about it. No one ever credits you for the work you do. No one takes notice of you. It's tiring, isn't it? Wouldn't you much rather be noticed?"

You know what? Yeah, I wanted to be noticed. I wanted to be given credit for things I did.

"Uh-huh."

"You want to hold some power for once, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"And I can give that to you. I can give you a fair amount of power and magic as well as bring your friends, Timothy and Matthew, back to life. All you have to do is do exactly as I command. Can you do that?"

I nodded.

"Good. Now you feel so relaxed, don't you?"

I nodded again.

"So terribly relaxed, and tired. And you may find that you are so relaxed that you could just.....sleep...."

**_SNAP!_ **

All I could see was darkness. But I heard a voice in my head.

_"You are the Dark Mistress Aundrea. You remember nothing of your past. Lilith saved you and you are devoted to her in a dedicated, adoring, and unbreakable way. You will awaken in a few moments, ready to do exactly as she says, for being obedient to her is the only thing that makes you feel happy."_

Her fingers snapped, and.....silence.

* * *

**Teala Dunn**

"Cecelia's back?" Justine exclaimed.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. That crazy woman who had taken Mystic and Sierra had taken Andrea too.

"Is there any chance she could be avoided?" Lauren asked.

"I don't know," Tyler squealed in a panic.  
"I don't even understand why she took Sierra or Andrea."

"Well, the sooner we can find her, the sooner she can be broken free of her---" Alison began.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?"

Andrea Brooks.

In one hand, in a tight grip, she had Envy. In another, she had the tracker, now fixed up.....sort of.

"Don't.....please....Andrea!" Envy was begging. 

"I do apologize, but she will _not_ be listening to you."

That immediately confirmed what Sofia had said: there was that crazy woman with the red eyes.

"She only obeys me. Aundrea, please turn that pesky device into smithereens."

"Yes, my lady."

In one swift motion, she threw the tracker to the ground and jumped on it. Once she was finished, there was no mistaking it: it was smithereens, practically dust.

"A...Andrea!" Envy was stunned.

"Well done, dark mistress," Cecelia smirked.  
"Now let us return to the castle."

And then....she and I made eye contact.

"But.....let's take this one with us."

It seemed like in no time, she had me in her tight grasp.

"Teala!" Alice exclaimed.  
"Envy, save her!"

But before his vines could grab me, I felt myself being pulled away, and the group was gone.


	11. The Return of the Pirate Princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A certain someone's getting introduced earlier than expected.

Meanwhile all the way out in the Caribbean Isles on a dense tropical island, a girl was fighting for her freedom against a gang of pirates, and brutally winning. She had no crown on her head, but she knew that they would succumb eventually. No one dared to deny her father's rule, let alone the fact that she was his daughter, despite him having been dead for centuries.

"She ain't given up yet? How is that possible?" someone stammered in shock.

As a response, he received an outright kick to the face from her. As she was basking in her umpteenth victory, someone else tried to attack her from the side. She whirled on him and her green eyes glowed a bright emerald. He was stopped dead in his tracks, transfixed by her gaze. It was so beautiful and glimmering, it was giving him life. Then with the snap of her fingers, he was out cold. Now she was on to facing the final boss: the captain himself.

"Arrgh! Ye really think yer gonna get away with this? Ye coulda been a good wife to a nice king, ye know. Ye shoulda been flattered that we were gonna sell ye at such a high price. I bet we could make ye into someone even I'd want to marry. Sweet, submissive, strong in bed--"

Out of nowhere, the captain was hit in the head with her cutlass out of nowhere. Her arms had turned green for a brief moment, stretched out, and whacked him before retreating and turning back to their light brown tone.

"Sorry, love," she sniffed in her classic almost-Cockney dialect as she snatched up his amulet, a stolen relic belonging to her father's side of the family: her father, the pirate king.  
"I don't _speak_ 'etero."

But that was when she sensed something. One of the family was turning what she called thorny.

"'E's never gone off the rails before," she gasped.

But she knew she could subdue him. She knew him the best out of the entire family. They had spent the most time together as kids. The thing was that she thought she had lost him. How was he still alive? It didn't matter to her right now. All that mattered was to subdue him.

"All the way out in the Norf Pole? Bloody 'ell. Well, if 'e's there..."

And off she went.

* * *

The group was stunned as Envy stormed off. This kind, sweet plant boy had just turned into a raging monster right before their own eyes. 

"Is....is he gonna turn evil?" Lauren asked in fright.

"But....Envy's so sweet. Has this ever happened before?" Eva asked.

"And how do we stop him?" Andrea R. exclaimed.

"I wish I knew," Calliope sighed.

All of a sudden, a bright idea came into Alison's head.

"I think I may know of a way."

The group turned to her.

"Well, tell us!" Glozell insisted.

She took a deep breath, as she wasn't entirely sure if this could be a possibility. Nonetheless there was a chance, and it was one she dared to take.

"Someone in his family may be able to sense that he's become like that. The only problem is I don't know if she's alive."

"How do you know her?" Safiya asked.

"She used to be a partner of the Society. Not part of it, but a partner of it. She and I worked closely on many navigational and blade-to-blade combats. I haven't seen her in ages, though, so there's a chance that she's--"

All of a sudden, there was a crack as a figure plummeted from the ceiling and hit the floor on their two feet, wearing an amulet and keeping a hold on her cutlass. She had dark hair, and looked very familiar to a few of the guests.

"Oh my God!" Joey gasped, backing away.  
"It's her!"

"It's Jezebel!" Alex exclaimed a little too happily.

"It's the woman who nearly cut my throat!" Colleen shrieked.

"And tried to cut off my arm!" Ro added.

Everyone backed away, except for Calliope, Jael, Ryu, and Alison.

"What are you doing?" Colleen exclaimed.  
"She's dangerous!"

Alison smirked as she got a good look at her.

"Dangerous? Maybe. But I highly doubt she's going to be dangerous to us. On the contrary, I think she's here to help us."

The woman also smirked.

"'S'been too long, Alison," she chuckled.  
"Didn't fink ye'd end up 'ere."

"Okay, that sounds like almost full-on Cockney," Safiya remarked.

"That's not entirely like how Jezebel speaks," Alex mourned.  
"But she sounds so much like her!"

"That's 'cause I ain't Jezebel, 'oever she is," she replied.  
"I'm someone be'er. An' I fink I can 'elp ye wif ye li'l situation wif Envy."

"How do you know Envy?" Bailey asked.

"'S'cause 'e's me younger brovver," she smirked.  
"S'prised 'e never told ye 'bout me."

"Wait, so that makes you--" Joey began.

"---'is older sister," she finished.

"Did Jezebel have a younger brother?" Alex asked.

"Ye can't stop wif ye wishful-finkin'," she rolled her eyes, frustrated.  
"I ain't Miss Jezebel."

"Well, if you're not Miss Jezebel," Bretman said.  
"Then who are you?"

Smirking, she spun her cutlass around a few times and placed it in its holder on her belt.

"My name's Ivy. Ivy Flora."


	12. We're Not In the North Pole Anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was going to make the part with Cecelia longer, but I kinda lost some inspiration.

**Safiya Nygaard**

After this pirate woman introduced herself to us, we kind of just stood there for probably a good five minutes before anyone said anything.

"Okay, is that true?" Lauren asked.  
"Are you really saying that you could help us calm down Envy?"

"Indeed," Ivy smirked.  
"Matter a fact, I'm pro'bly one a the only ones 'o can. So where is 'e?"

"We don't exactly know," I sighed.  
"He kinda stormed off that way."

Ivy turned around.

"Ah, yeah I can sense 'im. C'mon."

She rushed in that direction, and I decided to follow her, as did a few others. And when we got to where he was, it was a rather horrific sight to say the least. The room was overtaken by thorn-covered vines and it was growing rapidly.

"Bloody 'ell," Ivy gasped.  
"Somefin musta really upset 'im for 'im to get this forny. I can't believe 'e's alive. Well, nofin' te do but jump right in!"

And there she went. We watched her from the distance, dodging swinging thorn-covered vines and such. 

"Oy! Envy!" she called out.  
"What's goin' on? This ain't like ye!"

_"Who goes there?"_

He had this really monstrous, demonic voice, but Ivy didn't seem phased.

"Ye don't remember me, brovver?"

And that was when he seemed to soften up.

_"No....it can't be.....you.....she's dead."_

"I dunno 'o told ye I was dead, but they're dead wrong. It's the real me. So 'ow's 'bout ye calm down an' we can talk this over?"

That seemed to do the trick. He began shrinking and his thorns disappeared until he was back to his normal self. He looked....stunned.

"I....Ivy! Is....is this.....This isn't a dream, right?"

She smiled kindly and shook her head.

"No, it's one 'undred percent real."

"I.....I can't believe....Ivy!"

The two hugged each other and I could hear Envy crying softly.

"I thought I'd lost you for good!"

"Ah! Ye know me be'er than that. I don't give up so eas'ly."

"So you two really _are_ siblings," Alex groaned sadly.  
"And she's not Jezebel."

"Okay, 'o the bloody 'ell is Jezebel?" Ivy huffed.

"She was this....pirate woman who threatened to cut my throat," Colleen answered.

"And she had this ex-boyfriend named Rorik--" Bretman began.

"Boyfriend? Never 'ad many a those," Ivy scoffed.  
"My last one made me realize I don't really like guys as much as girls."

"Who was he?" Envy asked.

"Eh, that's not important right now. Right now, I'm sensin' we're short a few members."

"Yeah, some of our friends got kidnapped by this woman named Cecelia," Ro agreed.

Ivy growled.

"A course it's Cecelia, that bitch. Well, no time te waste. Let's go, Envy."

"Wait!" Genevieve gasped.  
"We first need to come up with a--"

And she was gone with Envy in tow.

* * *

**Mystic**

I awoke to find myself in a somewhat-grandiose bedroom. A dark bedroom. 

"What the--?"

I sat up. Sierra was there too! And she was also awake.

"Mystic!" she exclaimed.  
"What's going on?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," I sighed.  
"But all things considered, I'd say we'd just fallen into Cecelia's trap and brought to the Cursed God's castle."

"You'd be correct."

And then she appeared. Andrea Brooks was by her side with Teala tight in her grasp.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Horribly," I growled.

"Oh, don't worry, poppet. As soon as I finish with your friends, speaking of..."

She snapped her fingers.

"Sleep, Teala Dunn."

Teala dropped.

"Aundrea, please carry our guest to another bedroom to rest."

"Yes, my lady."

And she was off.

"Anyway, as soon as I'm finished with your friend here, I'll get to you. But first...."

* * *

**Sierra Furtado**

Once she was finished with Teala, that creepy Genevieve look-alike with red hair approached me again. I did not need or want this, but she was doing it anyway. Why?

"How are you feeling, Princess?"

Princess? Okay, why was I blushing?! I should not have been blushing. This woman was crazy!

"Not great," I told her.  
"I'd really just like to go back to the North Pole with Mystic...please."

"Oh, but I can't let you go, Princess."

I was blushing again! Sierra, stop blushing!

"I could give you the life of royalty. One that you deserve."

"Uh, no thanks. I really just wanna go back to the North Pole with Mystic," I said as I tried to get out of the chair subtly.  
"So if you could maybe take us back now--"

"No, no, no, Princess," she scolded playfully, pushing me back down into my seat.

Okay, I _really_ needed to stop blushing.

"I want you to stay here," she told me.  
"You'd be a perfect edition to the royal family. In fact, we already have a king, the Cursed God. And what is a king without a darling little princess?"

Her eyes were glowing red again. Okay, I knew better this time, and if she was implying what I thought she was, I didn't want that to happen, so I turned away, and that crazy woman just.....laughed.

"You are too cute, Princess."

Stop. with. the. blushing!

"I thought you were gonna call me dear bunny," I laughed nervously.

"I was, but Princess seems to fit so much more, especially because you'd truly become a princess with my offer."

"I don't wanna be a princess. I'd like to just go back to the North Pole with Mystic."

"Same here," Mystic piped up.  
"And I think since majority rules here, we should get to go home."

We both tried making a break for the door.

"I don't think so." 

Cecelia grabbed us both and pinned us against the wall. I tried to avoid her gaze, but it was quickly becoming almost impossible to look away. It was the same with Mystic. Were we doomed again?

_**CRASH!** _

The windows broke and in came Envy and.....another plant person?

Cecelia whirled around, which gave Mystic and I a chance to escape, but Envy grabbed us with his vines and we swung out.


	13. Vines, Love, and Drama Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Love at first sight?

**Mystic**

We got as far away as possible before anyone said anything. For the benefit of the group, I decided to get the obvious question out of the way: there was someone new who, not gonna lie, was gorgeous. This new person was taking a look around at the scenery, not really paying much attention. But who was she?

And that was exactly what I asked.

"Oh, uh, I think she can introduce herself."

"Hmm?" she asked.

And that was when we made eye contact. The first thing I noticed was that she had these beautiful, green eyes. She smirked at me.

"'Ello, 'ello, 'ello," she said in a Cockney dialect.  
"'O do we 'ave 'ere?"

"Tell them who you are!" Envy huffed.

"Now don't be rude, brovver!"

Brother?

"You never told us you had a sister!" Sierra gasped.

"I.....I thought she was a goner," he gulped.

"Name's Ivy. Ivy Flora."

She turned directly to me.

"An you, love?"

I could feel my cheeks heating up. I was blushing big time. Ivy giggled endearingly.

"Oh, this one's a cutie. I fink me instincts are makin' a good decision right now."

"Ivy!" Envy gulped.  
"Not right away!"

"Oh relax, brovver. You can suffer a slow burn if ya want, but I ain't puttin' me'self frough that. I fink I'm gonna fall in love wif this one."

She turned back to me and approached.

"Actually I fink I already 'ave."

I felt my stomach fill with thousands upon thousands of butterflies.

"M-Mystic," I gulped.

Ivy giggled again.

"Oh this one's definitely a cutie, Envy. Look at 'er, wif 'er li'l button nose an' sweet eyes."

Envy.

That was when I remembered.

I turned to him, an angry glare in my eyes.

"Why did you do it?" I demanded.  
"Why did you take _my_ teastones? Why are you trying to ruin _my_ story? My purpose?"

"Your purpose in life is to be stalked?" he asked in disbelief.

" _That_ was the first thing that came to your mind?"

"You're being chased after by people who claim to love you, and then you stay with them because they show you some affection!"

If Bailey were there, I was sure they'd make a remark about how it kind of sounds like a Melanie Martinez lyric. 

"How could I _not_ think that that was what you meant?"

"It _wasn't._ I want to be the hero! _That's_ my purpose here!"

"I want to _help_ you be the hero!"

Bullshit.

"And yet you tried to cheat the system? End the story earlier? You didn't ask if I _wanted_ the tracker! You didn't even ask to borrow the teastones!"

"A hero would've taken the initiative!"

"She didn't take the initiative," a familiar voice said.  
"Because she's not _meant_ to be the hero."

We whirled around to see Cecelia, Teala, and Andrea. Both Teala and Andrea now had a glaze in their eyes. 

"All the world's a stage, we've all been cast in our various roles, and _her_ type is the ingenue. And she's going to _stay_ that type forever. Teala, Aundrea, if you would take our lovely princesses please."

"Yes, my lady."

They grabbed a hold of us with surprisingly-strong grips. Sierra and I struggled. Ivy and Envy tried to grab us, but there was a force holding them back.

"Types are meant to be broken!" I snapped.

"Not in this production," Cecelia said.

"I never auditioned for this show. I never even signed up for your drama club!"

"Well it's too late to re-audition, let alone recast."

And just like that, we were back at the castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Cinna's gonna catch the reference. Is anyone else?


	14. Death Falls Upon You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh-oh.

**Mystic**

Sierra and I were placed into a large pink, princess-esque suite. It made me sick to my stomach. There was pink everywhere! 

"I'm not playing the Ingenue!" I spat.  
"I'm done with that!"

Cecelia looked at me confused.

"Oh? But I thought you wanted to be loved and adored."

She got me there. I began to fumble. 

"I-I do, but I also want to be strong."

"Well, I'm afraid you can't have it both ways. And frankly the Ingenue just fits you better. You're just so sweet, hopeful, innocent--"

"Shut your fucking mouth," I growled.

Out of the corner of my eye, there was an open window. 

_Just play the game, and when it's your turn to roll the dice, pass GO. Collect $200._

"It's going to be a wonderful life," she sighed.  
"Now before we start your hypnosis sessions, I need to get you your new dresses."

And just like that, she, Teala, and Aundrea ran off.

"C'mon," I whispered to Sierra.

"But....we can't just leave Teala and Andrea!"

"But if we don't leave now, it might be too late."

Through the open window, I saw two pairs of vines. I grabbed Sierra's hand and dragged her over to the window.

"Le's move!" Ivy exclaimed.

"How did you even get here so quickly?" Sierra gasped.

"Plot convenience. Now let's go!"

We were pulled up into the sky and back to the North Pole where a lot of people were waiting.

"Mystic!" Eva exclaimed.  
"Sierra! Look, I know you _just_ got back, and you still don't have Teala or Andrea, but we _need_ to leave the North Pole. Like, now!"

Leave the North Pole? Just when everyone started being nice to me?

"Yeah, not gonna happen," I rolled my eyes.  
"I appreciate you trying to lighten the mood with a joke, but these elves have just started being nice to me. I'm not leaving."

"No, Mystic!" Alice exclaimed.  
"This is no joke. This is serious. Tana found these in the library."

She brought over a set of blueprints.

"So?"

"Look at the note."

So I did, and as I read through it, my eyes grew wide as I connected the dots.

"Oh fuck," I whispered in fear.  
"I'm so fucked!"

"Not if we leave now," Eva assured me.  
"I don't think they know that we know--"

All of a sudden, the machinery stopped working and the only light we had was from the windows.

"Oh don't worry," a voice purred.

Whirling around, I saw elves upon elves carrying a throne of some kind along with a glowing tiara that I could tell was going to be serious trouble if I put that on. And the elves themselves were trouble as well. They had these creepy smiles and they didn't blink.

"We know that you know."

"And I'm afraid we can't let you leave."

"You see, our current power source is nearly drained of her innocence and in a matter of days, she'll be dead."

I was stunned. Dead? They had been draining whoever they had been using of her innocence, and now she was about to die?? They were going to try to _kill_ me?

"So you want me to die? Is that it?" I snapped.

"Oh no, Princess," they chorused.  
"We don't wish to kill you."

"We've done the calculations, and your innocence is so strong that it can replicate itself."

"We'll never run out of power once you become our source. And you'd be treated like the princess you really are."

They were advancing on me, and I was beginning to try to find where I could run. But that was when

"Wait, wait, wait," Saf said.  
"What's that gold thing?"

The elf she had pointed to pulled it out. It looked like a fraction of a coin.

"Oh, this was just something I found."

Genevieve pulled out our current tokens and analyzed the two. 

"It's a part of the next token," she gasped.

"The next token? Could we have it?" Ro asked.  
"Please? Pretty please?"

"We'll give it to you in exchange for Mystic."

No, that wasn't going to get us anywhere. There had to be something.

"What if we were to.....have a competition or something?"

They banded together and whispered before turning back to us.

"Very well."

They handed us some special paper.

"Vote the most innocent ones into the challenge and then select two to compete. We'll be waiting."

With the snaps of their fingers, they teleported us to a parlor nearby. That was when I knew there was no doubt about it: we were at the next death challenge.


	15. Draw and Redraw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are not doing so well.

Alice and I looked over at each other in fear. We had to vote in the most innocent of us, meaning that we were likely going in that pile. But then we looked over at Bailey and I just knew that at that moment, both of our hearts broke. I didn't want Alice to die and I didn't want Bailey to die, but I didn't want to die either. If I died, that soul would, apparently, be transferred to Alice, (not sure how true it is, I'd have to check) and then the Cursed God would be after her. And even if they were telling the truth and I _didn't_ die, the Cursed God could still come looking for me and find me. 

"Okay, so should we have, like, a discussion about this?" Safiya asked.

"Yeah, I think a discussion is in order," Colleen agreed.  
"First off, what even _is_ innocence?"

"I'd say idealism and belief in the good of the world," Matpat suggested.

"Okay, we'll base it on that," Nikita shrugged.  
"So then comes step 2.....who fits that bill?"

They looked around and of course, us three and Ro were the first to be spotted.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I exclaimed.  
"You do realize if I get stuck here, Lydia Waverly's soul could possibly pass on to Alice."

"But they just said you wouldn't die," JC shrugged.

"That doesn't mean they're telling the truth."

"I have two furbabies at home," Ro defended.

"Am strong bear!" Bailey said.

"I've been there for moral support," Alice said.

"Okay, but we still need to put all 4 of you in because you all have idealism and believe in the good of the world," Colleen exclaimed.

"What about Lucy?" Destorm suggested.

She looked shocked.

"I....I don't believe there's good in the world!"

"You've got a lot of tells on your face that say otherwise."

"What about Lauren?" she argued.  
"She's one of the sweetest people ever."

"Okay, but then Sierra would also have to go in there!" Lauren gasped.  
"Because she's just as sweet as me, even though we _just_ got her back!"

"Well, Alex should go in then," Sierra argued.  
"He's super sweet!"

"Whoa, if I'm going in, then Marly and Delta should go in!"

"Don't come for us," Marly snapped.

"I'm not trying to die!" Delta gasped.  
"Wynter?"

Wynter shrugged.

"I mean, yeah, I guess there's _some_ good in the world."

"I wish the coven hadn't killed Cyrille," Parris sighed.  
"She was super innocent."

"Aoibhe?" Tana asked

The writer shook her head.

"No, I'm actually kind of a bitch."

"That doesn't mean you don't believe that there's good in the world."

"I've seen a lot of shit."

"Sasha?" Glozell asked.

"No, not really," she shook her head.

"Rene?" Safiya asked.

"I mean.....I guess?"

"Anniken?"

"Eh. It depends."

"Envy?"

"NO," Alice asserted.  
"Over my dead body is Envy going into this!"

"There's no good in the world," Envy claimed.

"You also have a lot of tells on your face, Plant Boy," Destorm huffed.

"Justine also is kinda sweet," Safiya suggested.

"No, don't put me in there! I don't wanna get put in a coffin again!"

"We have to, and Roi should go in there as well."

"What if Oli went in?" Eva gulped.

Oli looked at her as if she were telling him she was going to execute him. She might as well have, all things considered. Erica looked ready to faint.

"What about people that aren't as sweet, but still believe in the good?" 

"Like Gabbie? And Tana?"

"Okay, I think that's enough discussion," Joey sighed.  
"Let's just cast votes."

We all went up one by one. Closing my eyes, I decided that I would put in a random card, so that if that card got called, I was not going to have any sort of blood on my hands. For some, like Destorm, it didn't take long to put someone in to the pile. For Ro, she was uncertain and stood there for about 2 minutes trying to decide who to pick. 

"Has everyone cast their votes?" Alison asked.

We all looked at each other and nodded.

"Very well," she nodded.  
"I will now shuffle and draw 2."

My stomach was churning. Anyone of us three, Bailey, Alice, or myself, could get pulled out of that pile and sent into possibly lose our freedom. I couldn't let that happen, but what could I do?

After what felt like eons of waiting, Alison drew the first card before turning it to show us.

"Alex," she called.

My heart sank. Lucy was not going to be happy about Gabex possibly sinking, but that lowered our chances of getting picked now.

"Who is my opponent?" he asked.

Removing the extra Alex cards from the pile, Alison shuffled them again. Seconds felt as though they were moving through tar. I couldn't wait much longer or my heart was going to explode.

Finally she pulled out the second card, looked it over, and showed us.

"Gabbie."

I felt both a sense of relief and a sense of dread. This was the automaton challenge over again. But all of a sudden, another elf rushed inside the room and whispered something to Alison.

"I've just been informed that the rules have changed. There will in fact be 8 people who will have to face off in a Christmas Gauntlet. I will once again shuffle and draw six more."

I became infuriated and terrified. How could they just change the rules up on us so damn fast? Alison pulled out the cards and showed them in order:

"Marly."

_Shuffle, pull, flip._

"Delta."

_Shuffle, pull, flip._

"Matpat."

I was stunned, and so was Matpat, but we didn't have much time to react, because we still had 3 more names to go.

_Shuffle, pull, flip._

"Lauren."

_Shuffle, pull, flip._

"Roi."

That was seven down. There was only one more chance to avoid losing our freedom.

"And finally..."

_Shuffle, pull, flip._

"Aoibhe."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, who voted for me?" Matpat exclaimed.

No one wanted to take the L.

"If you 8 would follow me," Alison announced.  
"The rest of you can stay."

"Good luck," I called out as encouragingly as I could.

However that didn't really mattered, as about five minutes later, Alison returned with Gabbie and Aoibhe.

"What happened?" Joey asked.

"They said we weren't idealistic enough," Aoibhe huffed.  
"I don't even know why my name was in there to begin with."

I began to get worried again. That meant one of us three could end up getting reaped. 

"The first one will be...."

_Shuffle, pull, flip._

"Oli."

Lyra and Eva looked like they were about to burst into tears.

"And the second--"

That was when Delta and Marly walked back in.

"They sent us away," Delta huffed.  
"Said I was too old or something."

"Said I wasn't innocent enough."

Were these elves _trying_ to get me reaped? I would say yes.

"Very well," Alison sighed.  
"Now we will have three more drawings. As I was saying, the second person to go in will be...."

_Shuffle, pull, flip._

"Anniken."

_Shuffle, pull, flip._

"Wynter. And finally...."

_Shuffle, pull, flip._

"Alice."

My heart sunk.

"What the heck?" Alice blanched.

"These elves are sick," I growled.

"Why?" Alice was near tears and I completely understood why.

The four followed Alison out, only to find that Anniken and Wynter were sent back.

"Great," I huffed.  
"More chances to lose our freedom."

"It seems we'll be having a redraw again."

"These elves are _way_ too particular," Andrea R. huffed.

"The first person is....."

_Shuffle, pull, flip._

"Envy."

My eyes grew wide, and Ivy looked like she was about to murder someone. 

"Th-this can't be happening," Envy gulped.

"We gotta 'ave a redraw!" Ivy demanded.

"And the second person is......"

_Shuffle, pull, flip._

"Rosanna."

"Oh God," I whimpered.

Ro looked pretty collected for someone who was possibly going to lose their freedom. And it just so happened Roi was sent back in.

"He tried to attack one of us," the elf who brought him in said before leaving.

I could tell that Alison was nearly done with this shit. And frankly, so was I.

"Very well. The final person to go into the challenge is....."

_Shuffle, pull, flip._

"Mystic."

My face lost all of its color. Of course I was going up against my best friend, two of my favorite YouTubers, and my best friend's crush. 

"What the heck?" I whimpered.

"We gotta 'ave a redraw!" Ivy demanded.

"The votes have been cast," Alison sighed.  
"There's no way to change it. Envy, Rosanna, Mystic. Please follow me."

"Good luck," Justine called out.

"You've got this!" Joey said.

I could barely hear them though. Because I was walking quite possibly into my doom.


	16. If You're Not Smiling, Your Heart is In Two.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas. Why did it have to be Christmas?

We were lead into the workshop where we already saw the other five waiting. Alice and I made eye contact, and I could see her face drain of more color. But she practically went into shock when she saw that Envy was also one of the new contestants. Matpat was also shocked when he saw Ro.

"This is sick," Oli sighed.  
"The 1920s dinner party was already draining enough. Why this?"

"Oh God," Lauren gulped.  
"The Victorian party was horrible as well."

Sugarplum approached us.

"Okay," she began.  
"You 8 have been selected to take part in a Christmas gauntlet. Before we start, I'd like you to look at the number below you."

I looked down. I had the number 7.

"Remember that number because it's going to be extremely important. There are 4 obstacles that you will have to overcome: on my go, you must grab one of the eight colored rings and then rush to the station that has the same number as the one by your feet. At that station, you must down all 4 mugs of hot chocolate. Then you will rush over to the pile of stuffed animals. You must cuddle with them for one minute. And you better do it lovingly. Cuddling is no fucking joke here! We take it very seriously. We will _know_ if you hurt any of the stuffed animals and don't apologize to them.  
"Then you will rush to a bird cage. You must get the bird to sing back to you by singing to the bird. And finally, you must army crawl underneath the Christmas bells. If you make them ring, you must head back to the start of the army crawl and try again. Once you have completed that, you must put your ring around the button with the number that corresponds to the one by your feet and press the button. This will stop your timer. Do you understand?"

We looked over at each other. I was especially worried for Ro. The last time she had to do a gauntlet, she got stuck on the drinking portion and was stabbed to death. 

"We've got it," I nodded.

"Very well," Sugarplum stated.  
"On your marks, get set,"

She pressed a button.

"Begin."

And then it was just a mad scramble. We each grabbed a ring of a different color. I ended up getting purple. I zipped on over to station 7 and started on the first hot chocolate. But that was when I noticed. It was _extremely_ sweet. I tried to get through the first as quickly as possible, as well as the second and the third. But then I had a thought: The first and last positions might not be good places to be in. I decided to let one or two go ahead of me, and then make it to the finish. So on the last hot chocolate, I decided to take it rather slowly, keeping my eyes peeled for someone to get ahead of me. 

The elves began to point at me and whisper. I knew they probably wanted me to get either first or last place, but I wasn't about to give them what they wanted. They'd bullied me and tried to use this power I apparently had, so I thought that this was about what they deserved. 

I soon noticed Alex and Oli gaining leads. By the time I'd finished with my last mug, Alex was done cuddling with the stuffed animals and Oli was almost finished. Lauren had also gained a leg up. I rushed over to the stuffed animal pile. I tried to be very careful. 

"I'm so sorry," I apologized to the stuffies God-knows-how-many times before, during, _and_ after cuddling with them.

The one minute wasn't so bad. But then came to the part I was dreading the most. Yes, even more than the army crawl. It was getting the bird to sing back to me. And I had to sing to the bird to do that. Alex was already at the army crawl by that point. I decided to just start singing whatever songs came to my mind. I could hear some "oohs" and "ahhs" after I started singing and I cringed. Of course they'd set up a _singing_ challenge. 

Thank God it was over after 2 damn minutes of trying. And finally, the army crawl. Lauren was halfway through. Oli was nearing the end, and Alex had just pressed his button. I took a quick survey behind me. Envy was heading for the birdcage, probably extremely relieved to have gotten out of the stuffed animal pit. Ro was in the middle of cuddling with them. Matt had just begun the cuddling. And Alice....oh dear God. 

Did they make her hot chocolate spicy or extra hot or something? She looked like she was struggling to down the mugs, but thankfully, she was on her fourth mug. That she had _just_ picked up. 

_Jesus take the wheel,_ I prayed.

Falling to my front, I started crawling, having to clench my booty in case it was going to hit the bells. 

_Ding!_

I heard one above me and I quickly crawled back to the beginning before starting over. 

_Ding!_

And again.

_Ding!_

And again.

_Ding!_

And agai--you get the idea. 

By the time I had made it even halfway through, Envy was just starting. I quickly scrambled through the rest, careful not to touch any of the bells. 

And bam! I pressed button number 7.

"Awesome!" Alex exclaimed, giving me a high-five, followed by Oli and Lauren. I had made it to fourth place, which I felt was a pretty solid place to be. I saw the elves. Some of them had scowls on their faces. Others were stone-faced, but some were just straight-up throwing tantrums because I hadn't come in first or last, whichever was going to turn me into their newest power source. 

_Hehe. Screw you, you pointy-eared Christmas-Shire fucks!_

Envy came in at fifth just as Ro was beginning the army crawl. Matpat was switching to the birdcage and Alice was cuddling with the stuffed animals. Ro eventually came in sixth as Alice got to the birdcage, but Matpat was already halfway through the army crawl by that time. I wasn't sure who I wanted to come in seventh. Alice emerged eventually as had gotten to the army crawl, but by that time Matpat had scurried out and stopped his time. I guess she didn't really notice though because she still kept speeding through in spite of it all.

It wasn't until she had placed her orange ring around her button and stopped the timer that she realized what had just happened.

"Oh no..." she panicked.  
"No, no, no, please. I can't die. I don't want to die!"

I rushed over and gave her a hug.

"Over my dead body are they taking you," I whispered to her before turning around at the sound of footsteps.

Sugarplum approached. Envy looked as though he was about to kill a motherfucker.

"Well, it looks like the results are in. But there was one thing I forgot to mention," Sugarplum exclaimed.

She paused as if she wanted the tension to sink in. 

"The one who will be going in as the new power supply will be whoever clocked in _first._ "

I was so relieved. That meant Alice was safe.

"And that person was.....Mystic."

"Uh, like hell it was!" I spat as they approached with the throne and tiara.  
"Also how the fuck do you even carry that thing without getting tired?"

"We work out a lot. Now time for you to go to your royal chamber, Princess."

I felt like Sierra, blushing, but I also felt terrified.

"Guys, c'mon!" I screamed as they grabbed me.  
"You gotta tell them!"

They didn't say anything. I could tell they wanted to, but so many of them were too scared. Well, I was scared to lose my life. Was this it? Was my freedom going to end here?

"Please, you guys!" I cried out, tears falling down my face.  
"Please, stop this please! Please don't let them do this to me, please! Please!"

As they put me on the throne, I closed my eyes, sure that my fate was sealed....

"Wait!" a voice called out.

They came to a halt and I opened my eyes. Alex had stepped forward.

"I was the first one to make it through," he sighed.

"He's lying!" one elf yelled.

There were boos from the crowd. I swore I heard Alice shush several of them and even yell "Shut up!" to someone. Or maybe that was Ro or Lauren?

"Check the times for the buttons," he asserted.  
"I was button number 4."

They set me on the throne before going to check the times. They came back with a sheet, and Sugarplum read it over, sighing.

"He's right," she declared.  
"This young man, whatever his name is---"

"Alex," he said.

"Alex is correct. Mystic was button 7 and she came in 4th place. Alex was button 4 and he came in first place. So we should actually be taking Alex."

"Wait!" he exclaimed.  
"We had a deal. You said that if you got a new power source, we could get the piece!"

"Did we?" Sugarplum asked innocently.

I saw Envy's vine grab that small piece in a flash.

"Oh well."

I turned to Alex with tears in my eyes. 

"You.....you saved me."

He smiled sadly.

"You really think I was going to let them make you suffer like that?"

I smiled sadly back at him.

"You really _do_ have a hero's heart."

"And so do you," he told me.  
"You're not confined to ingenues."

I was confused.

"How did you--?"

"Envy told me a little bit about it when I asked. You're right, Mystic. In this world, we can't play a single role. We play multiple roles all at once. You _can_ be the ingenue, but you can _also_ be the hero. I know you've got a hero's heart mixed with an ingenue's heart. Use what you have to help the others and help yourself grow into the wonderful person I know you're gonna become."

"Thank you," I cried, hugging him.

The elves crowded around us. Alex turned to us all.

"I know I might die, but I have one final thing to say to you all: keep going. Push through this nightmare and grow."

And then there was the real kicker.....

"And remember: if you're not smiling.......you're doing it wrong."

And then.....they took him away.


	17. Forced Adoption?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting worse.

I couldn't believe it. 

There was no fight.

No resistance.

Not even a hint of reluctance.

He just.......left with them.

Alex Wassabi was gone.

We all just stood there, dumbfounded. None of us could find even a single word to say, but I was especially dumbfounded. Alex could've so easily kept silent and let me power the North Pole forever. Instead he chose to send himself to that fate to keep me from having to suffer. 

Finally it was Oli who broke our silence.

" _That_ is a man who truly has a hero's heart," he said solemnly.

I nodded sadly.

"Alright, I'm done here," I sighed, walking away.  
"Let's just go."

"Mystic--" Ro began.

"Let's go," I said more firmly.

I knew she was only trying to comfort me, but I just wasn't having it. I felt guilty that Alex had sacrificed himself for me. Sure, he _was_ the one who was supposed to go, but I still felt guilty nonetheless. The only upside to this was that at least we had the token piece we needed.

* * *

We rounded the corner where everyone was relieved to see Alice, Envy, and I back. But they did notice the absence of one of us.

"Where's.....Alex?" Eva asked.

I sighed.

"Where do you think?"

"Oh God," Gabbie sighed sadly.

We just sat there for a while, saying nothing.

"We did get the token piece," Matpat sighed.  
"So it wasn't terrible."

"He sacrificed himself," I whimpered.

"Mystic, he was supposed to go," Ro tried to comfort me.

"You know perfectly well that those elves wanted _me,_ " I exclaimed.  
"That's why they tried to see if they could cheat the system. If he'd kept quiet, he'd still be here."

"But you'd be gone," Envy pointed out.  
"And we need you here."

"Oh, so we don't need Alex? You think he was useless?"

"That's not what I said--"

"Enough!" Genevieve snapped.  
"Both you and Alex are needed, but in terms of circumstance, I'm glad you're back."

There was a moment of silence.

"We're so sorry that none of us said anything," Alice gulped.

I shook my head.

"You're fine. A lot of people would've acted the same way."

That was when the lights began to flicker on and off. And through the flicker, I saw the silhouette of a small figure in the doorway. When the lights came back on, I saw it was a little elf girl. She looked sweet, but tired out.

"Hi," she replied quietly, not making eye contact.

None of us really knew what to make of it for a few moments, but that was when it hit me.

"Is your name Sugarbelle?" I asked her gently.

"My name is Sugarbelle?" she answered slowly. 

"Where did you come from?"

She seemed reluctant to answer.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to," I told her gently.

She was rocking on her heels.

"Big machine."

Now we were getting somewhere, but I had a funny feeling it was in a direction that I could've gone if a certain someone hadn't spoken up.

"Was this machine white?"

"Big white machine."

"Was there a box next to it?" Tana asked.

"Big white machine with a box next to it. A.....a metal box."

"Can you tell us what you remember of it?" I asked.  
"You can sit on the couch if you want. And don't feel rushed. Take your time."

She rushed to the couch and sat down. We all waited in silence for sometime before she spoke slowly.

"Big sister brought me to library one day. She said 'let's play a game.' She tied cloth over my eyes. When she took off cloth, I was in machine. Fell asleep then."

I nodded.

"And when did you wake up?"

"I just woke up. Big sister pulled me out and I saw stranger boy with dark hair."

"Miss Alexiania," Bretman gasped.

"Alexiania?" she repeated slowly.

Bretman nodded.

"Go on," I encouraged her.

"Then they pushed stranger boy in and I ran out and up here. And time has caught up."

"You.....mentioned a big sister," Genevieve said.  
"By chance do you remember the name of your big sister?"

She nodded.

"Big sister Sugarplum."

My eyes widened. Had Sugarplum been lying to us? This elf seemed really sweet. How could she not care about anyone?

"I think we've been tricked," I gulped.

_"You certainly have."_

It was a voice, but it wasn't Sugarplum's. The lights went off and we all began screaming. Out of nowhere, I saw a glow of red, heard the snap of someone's fingers, and Envy crying out "Alice!" Then the red advanced towards me and I was caught. Before I knew it, I was out cold.

* * *

I shot up in a cold sweat. I couldn't quite familiarize myself with where I was.

"M-Mystic?" I heard Alice ask.  
"You okay?"

"Yeah. You?"

"I-I think so, I dunno where we are, though."

"That makes two of us," I sighed.

_"I can tell you that."_

My stomach jumped as the crazy Genevieve look-alike herself stepped inside: Cecelia Annesley.

"Okay, look. I don't know what you've done to us," I growled.  
"Just don't you dare take us to the Cursed God--"

She began laughing and approached me.

"Oh, you're so adorable, Princess."

What was with me blushing?

"I'm not going to give you to the Cursed God."

Now that took me by surprise.

"What?"

"He doesn't deserve you, sweetheart. He's far too evil for such a lovely, darling, little princess like yourself."

"But.....but all of those times you----what?"

"Well, yes, I _did_ start out as wanting to make my lord happy. But as time has passed, you seem to have somewhat....grown on me. I've become quite fond of you, you know."

She sat down on the edge of the bed near me.

"You remind me of what I was once like. And you made me realize just how much I missed out on because I was the black sheep of the family. Genevieve was alway the perfect daughter, and I was never enough somehow. With any accomplishment I made, Genevieve topped me based on our parents' standards. When I came of age, I vowed I would never treat my children that way."

"So....why am I here?"

Cecelia giggled and cupped my cheek.

"Isn't it obvious, darling? You're going to be my daughter."


	18. Heel-Face Turn?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Um, is she for real?
> 
> CW: Suicide mention.

I was in absolute disbelief at what I'd just heard. Instead of taking me to the Cursed God and making me fall in love with him like she'd tried to do before, she was now claiming that she wanted me as her daughter? Did I actually hear that right?

"I-I'm sorry. I think I may have blacked out for a second. What did you say?"

"I said you're going to be my daughter."

So I _hadn't_ misheard her.

"Oh. Um, yeah, not gonna happen. Good bye."

I stood up and rushed for the door, but she had a quick reaction time. She had my wrist in an iron grip.

"I don't think I offered you a choice in the matter, my dear."

"Wait, why am I here then?" Alice asked.

"Because you seem like a quality sister for her. But I wanted you to make the choice, you know. Give you some information about it. Think of it as a sort of......sales pitch."

She shook her head.

"No. I'm not going to. I don't want Mystic to be held captive and I don't wanna be held captive either."

"I'm not going to hold you captive. I'm letting you choose. Of course, if you say no, I _will_ be making you walk back, and there's a strong chance you may not survive the journey back to the North Pole."

I gasped. Was she trying to kill Alice? Tears came to my eyes.

"No! Please, don't do this, Cecelia!" I cried.  
"She's one of my best friends! Please, don't kill her!"

I looked up at her with big sad eyes, and she smiled kindly.

"Oh, now, now, don't cry. I was only joking, sweetheart. Mother won't make her walk if she chooses not to be part of the family."

She started petting my head and the cat reflex reappeared. I let out a cute purr.

"Aww!" Cecelia gushed.  
"You are just too cute, princess!"

"But....why would either of us want to be your daughters?" Alice asked.  
"You're evil."

Cecelia huffed.

"Just because I'm what you consider to be 'evil' doesn't mean I'm heartless. When I barely know you or if I do any hate you, I don't care what happens to you. But when I know you and become fond of you, I am very protective and loving. And you, Alice, are starting to grow on me. Now I wouldn't say you've grown on me to the point where you don't have a choice in the matter, but it's getting there. So I figured I should give you the chance to make that decision yourself while you have the time."

"But why Mystic?"

I looked up in confusion.

"Yeah, that's a good point. Why me specifically?"

"Because, darling, you've gone through so much shit. More than anyone should ever have to. And yet, unlike Penelope, you've come out of it relatively unscathed and still believing that the world has good in it, and that's one of the things I admire about you. The Cursed God is in the wrong to be treating innocence like it's solely a weakness. Innocence can be a strength in the right ways."

"But then what's this all about me staying an ingenue?"

"Because it _does_ fit you the best. However I'll let you fight the battles within yourself. You have to tackle those first, anyway, or else you won't be ready to take on the ones outside of yourself."

Why was Cecelia giving genuinely good advice? I mean, she's kinda right. I do need to focus on beating my inner demons.

"On top of it all, I would make sure the Cursed God would never marry you."

Saywhatnow?

"Uh, come again?"

"My daughter shouldn't be marrying someone like him. He's a corrupting influence, and as Erica so bluntly put it, 'an emotionally-abusive prick.' I'd rather you marry a decent man, or woman, or person, or whoever. I don't care who they are, just so long as it's someone who will treat you like the princess I know you are. Same goes for Alice, if she agrees to be my daughter, of course."

"How would you stop him?"

"I'd make him ask for my blessing, and then I'd say no."

"And if he went ahead and married me anyway?"

"Then I would give him hell and tell him to be a fucking gentleman. And if he ever hurt either of you, I'd make sure he'd die."

"But.....the only way to kill him is with these tokens we need to find."

"Then if that's what we have to do, that's what we have to do."

I pursed my lips.

"Why are you suddenly being so nice to me? What happened to your loyalty to the Cursed God?"

"Darling, as soon as he discovered I was faking being innocent after our five-year relationship, I begged for his mercy, promised to work for him, and meant absolutely none of what I said."

"But you've brought me back to him quite a few times."

"Because I knew you wouldn't have just given up. You kept running. But I sense that this is wearing you down, so I wanted to offer up my help now rather than when you're just about to commit suicide."

She said those last few words rather firmly.

"I've...I've never thought about--" I began.

"Don't," she snapped firmly, a hint of sadness in her voice, and it.....actually sounded genuine.  
"I'm sure Alice can attest otherwise, but I can feel that you've wanted to die, and have come very close to death. I may be considered evil, but I love and care about you, and it would truly break my heart if you committed suicide." 

I didn't want to give her any satisfaction of breaking down, so I pushed her away. 

"I don't need your pity," I hissed.

"Darling, it's not pity."

I rolled my eyes.

"You're full of bullshit. I wouldn't care if I was dead. C'mon Alice. Let's go."

I was about to leave, but I suddenly heard quiet tears. I turned around and saw that Cecelia was.....crying. Actually crying. Were they just crocodile tears or legit? I didn't know, but my morality told me to stick around. I would have rather been fooled than be cruel.

"You're....serious about this?" I asked.

And then I told her what may be the stupidest thing to tell someone who can and does use eye contact hypnosis. 

"If you are serious about this, then look me in the eyes and tell me with a straight face."

"Mystic-" Alice began worried.

I gave her a side glance to tell her it was going to be okay, even though I wasn't sure myself. Why I told her to do that I wasn't sure. Maybe it was because I wanted to see if she would cave. Maybe I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I had some faith in her. Whatever it was, it made me less worried to do this.

She and I made eye contact, but her crimson eyes didn't glow.

"Darling, I have never been more serious about anything in my entire life. I do truly care about you and want to make sure you're safe. Now you can suspect me as much as you wish of being a fraud and lying to you, but I know that I am telling you the absolute truth. I am serious about wanting you to stay alive and I am serious about wanting to help you."

There wasn't even a trace of a break in her straight face. She barely looked away from me. I felt myself soften up a bit. Maybe there _was_ some good in Cecelia, after all.

"Okay," I gave a single nod.  
"I'll let you help, and if things work out, we can discuss this whole family thing once it's over."

"Mystic!" Alice exclaimed.  
"We can't trust--!"

"I know I'm scared to be betrayed, and I know that there's a chance of that happening, but she might be the best source of information we have right now. We've been finding these tokens and token pieces by sheer luck and chance. Lilith has been in this world longer than any of us and knows where we can find shit. So let's get back to the North Pole and get on to the next token piece."

And off we went.

* * *

As soon as we returned to the parlor room where we had drawn cards, people swarmed Alice and I. And as suspected, they greeted Cecelia with a decent amount of hostility.

"Stay back," Joey growled.

"Joey, she's not here to hurt us," I assured him.

Everyone else was in shock.

"Mystic, how can you trust her?" Envy exclaimed in disbelief.  
"She's been trying to take you back to the Cursed God--"

"Well, why would she be coming back with us? To gloat about capturing us? No!"

"She's evil and unpredictable!"

"And you don't think she has a chance at redemption?"

"Not at this rate! She's nothing but pure evil. Why should we trust--!"

"Well, I'll explain if you can just shut your mouth for a SECOND!" I said, channeling my inner Nikita.

He went quiet.

"Thank you," I sighed.  
"Cecelia and I talked, and as it turns out, she's not actually working for the Cursed God. She's willing to help us get these token pieces to end him."

"That sounds like bullshit," Candy Pop scoffed.  
"That bitch is pure evil."

"That's rich coming from a demon," Cecelia huffed.

He pursed his lips and gave a nod.

"Touche."

"Anyway, is it really such a bad idea to trust her?"

"Yes!" exclaimed the vast majority of the group. 

"She's been in this world longer than any of us. She'd know the ropes. She'd know where we can find what we need."

"Ahem," Cecelia cleared her throat.  
"If I may, I believe I have a way I can help assure your trust in me."

"And what would that be?" Bretman interrogated.

She smirked knowingly.

"I know how we can bring some of your friends back from the dead."


	19. Winter to Summer Camp.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorrynotsorry, Sponge.

"Are you being serious?" Safiya asked, breaking the long-held silence.

Lilith nodded.

"I happen to know places and people where resurrections are an option. Speaking of...."

Snapping her fingers, Teala and Andrea Brooks reappeared. The glaze had disappeared from their eyes.

"We should probably get going then," I sighed.  
"Where to?"

"What about that Queen of Fiction?" Ro asked.

"I thought you all were sketched out by it."

"Well, maybe it's worth a try."

I still had the letter with me. I took it out and read it through again. A portal and a book? That was really all I needed? That sounded too easy. But what if it _was_ a trap of some kind?

"Hmm," I thought about it.  
"I...guess it wouldn't hurt to try. Where's the library?"

"I can show you," Andrea Brooks offered.

And off we were. 

* * *

She lead us inside.

"Books?" Sugarbelle asked.  
"Fiction?"

"Yeah," I nodded.  
"We're gonna need a fiction book."

She rushed off and brought back a children's book. I couldn't quite make out the title.

"Okay, now what? I guess we place the book on the floor, and make a portal."

I opened the bag of teastones.

"I wish we had a portal."

One appeared in front of the book.

"C'mon," I nodded.

"Mystic--!" Cecelia exclaimed.

"We'll be fine," I assured.  
"What could be worse than this?" 

I jumped through and the others followed.

* * *

_**CRACKLE.** _

I opened my eyes to find myself surrounded by nature and cabins. And....eyes peeking out of the windows of the cabins. The others soon arrived. 

"Where are we?" Alice groaned.

"I dunno, but I don't think this is the land of fiction," Tristen groaned.

"Wherever it is," Candy Pop added.  
"I have a bad feeling about it."

"Oh boy! New campers!"

"Golly Gee! They look great!"

"Hot dog! New friends!"

I had a feeling Candy Pop was right.

"Hello, new campers!" a woman with a thick dialect greeted.  
"Welcome to Camp Happy Sunshine! My name is Carol Dontchaknow!"

I could hear Dahlia whimpering behind me.

"This camp is all about friends, fun, and free-frolicking, dontchaknow!"

That was when I noticed something on her vest. It was a fragment of gold, and it matched the piece we last saw.

"Hey, what's that on your vest?" I asked.

"Oh this? Just a piece a gold I found, dontchaknow!"

"Can we have it?"

She gave this some long thought.

"Weeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllll, I suppose if ya spend maybe a week or so here at Camp Happy Sunshine, you can have it, dontchaknow!"

"Okay," I shrugged.

"Mystic!" Alice gasped as Carol walked away.  
"Didn't you see how unnatural their smiles looked?"

I did. But I had to deal with it.

"Hey, if spending a week at Camp Boy Howdy or whatever gets us a token piece, I think we can survive it. I mean, how bad could it really be?"

Little did I know just how bad it really was.....


End file.
